• Reflect on the nature of human experience and how this relates to achieving change in the world
• Describe the UX philosophy and mindset
• Design and deploy some basic UX testing processes
• Work independently and as part of a team to complete a mini-project

This module will introduce the idea of human experience with an interdisciplinary consideration of the neuroscience of perception, the philosophy of meaning making and the behavioural science of human action. We will then use this awareness to consider how to create change in human activity - whether that is enticing people to use a new product or process, or by changing existing patterns of behaviour to more sustainable practices and processes, drawing on ideas like nudge theory.

Using some case study examples to help you quickly develop an innovation or idea to be tested, we will then consider the importance of user experience (UX). We will think about how to keep the user in mind at all times, as well as formal processes for UX testing.

You will take away a package of skills that will enhance future design and innovation projects.

Although you will contribute individually to your projects, you will also be working in a student team with a co-learner to help your progress and keep you on track during the course. Our co-learners are PhD students with an interest in global issues and skill development. During the course we will help you to consider what skills are needed to tackle global issues and help you to set goals and work on these skills for yourself.

What you will learn: 

• How a broad range of global issues are facing the world today
• How to use tools to improve use of data, innovation and progress related to sustainable development
• How to work collaboratively to research a contemporary global issue
• How your own skillset surrounding the study of Global Challenges can be enhanced

What you will do: 

• Familiarise yourself with a range of global issues facing the world today
• Choose a global issue to research further in teams using allocated tools and supported by staff
• Share your findings with other students, verbally and using a Wiki

This will be a highly-interactive module with whole class discussions and small group work, facilitated by the teacher. Concepts and ideas will be introduced with practical activities and thought experiments.

You will be introduced to the Change Makers UX model, which you will then be able to apply to a real world project in teams. A choice of partly-worked case studies will be provided that solve real world problems. You will be encouraged to make the project your own, making changes and suggesting potential solutions. However, lots of ideas will be included as the focus is not on coming up with the best solution, but applying the values of UX to your work.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to 'test' your project on another team in the class, using UX testing to evaluation and fine tune your project. The final session will be a showcase of the projects and the UX processes used to achieve the best solution to each problem.

We recognise the interrelated nature of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and do not consider individual SDGs in isolation.  We adopt a systems-based approach that recognises their cross-cutting nature. 

In this module you will have the opportunity to focus your studies on any SDG. After completing some exploratory activities to identify the topics that interest you the most, you will be considering a problem of your own choosing. This could address a single SDG, or impact on a number of SDG areas. You will also hear about the work of other students, so gain a broader awareness of further SDGs.

In previous years students have considered solutions to improve access to education (SDG 4), to eliminate infectious diseases (SDG 3), to improve resilience to natural disasters (SDGs 9, 11 and 13), to create clean energy (SDG 7), to tackle discrimination on the basis of gender and sexuality (SDGs 5, 10 and 11), to tackle food waste (SDG 2 and 12) – as well as many other pressing issues.

This module is assessed both formatively and summatively. This means that you will receive feedback following each activity that we complete together in class, but only your final researcher reflection will be graded. You will be able to complete your researcher reflection in class time - adding a little to the reflection each week.

• Coursework: Researcher Reflection (a research journal that may be written or presented using multimedia entries) - equivalent of 600-1000 words (100%)

• ECTS value: 0
• Requirements: You must be prepared to attend all classes and to spend about an hour a week preparing for each session
• This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 4 course. For an explanation of levels, view the Imperial Horizons Level Descriptors page.‌