Info about the course "Technologies for Welfare, Well-being, and a Good Life"

• Course start: Monday, 10 March 2025, at 10 am at IFI (room to be announced).
• Course conclusion: Thursday, 10 April 2025.
• The course will typically run from Monday to Thursday as an intensive course (whole day), with 80% attendance required.
• Other mandatory courses, such as IN5000, will be accommodated.
• The course will be taught in English.

Course Content:

This course provides an overview of how interaction design can enhance welfare, well-being, and the pursuit of a good life. It combines theoretical foundations (e.g. well-being theories, interaction design principles), ethical considerations, research methods, and practical design methods, while critically evaluating the impact of HCI on well-being. The course emphasises foundational concepts and theories of interaction and well-being, contextual understanding, and the principles of designing for responsible (non)use.

Through lectures, seminars, and continuous exercises, students will engage with real-life examples and explore diverse research traditions, methods, and methodologies. Practical assignments will lead students through key phases of interaction design, from formulating research questions and methodologies to prototyping and evaluation. These activities will equip them to design responsibly for diverse contexts, address ethical challenges, and contribute to the broader goal of creating technologies that support human flourishing. The course culminates in a final project, enabling students to propose innovative, ethically sound, and impactful solutions to complex societal challenges.

Learning Outcomes:

After taking this course, you will be able to:

• Understand foundational concepts and theories of well-being: Students will be able to explain philosophical and theoretical models of well-being, including hedonism, eudaimonia, and self-determination theory, and their relevance to interaction design.
• Apply interaction design principles to welfare-focused technologies: Students will demonstrate the ability to use research and design methods to create HCI solutions that address diverse welfare and well-being needs.
• Discuss the ethical dimensions of HCI design for well-being: Students will critically analyse and apply ethical frameworks, addressing both organisational and individual challenges, and identifying and (if possible) mitigating potential issues such as digital nudging, autonomy violations, and dark patterns in well-being technologies.
• Develop and refine HCI prototypes for well-being outcomes: Students will design, prototype, and iteratively improve concepts for technology that supports welfare and living a good life, incorporating user feedback and evaluation methods.
• Integrate long-term responsibility and societal impact into HCI design: Students will explore and apply principles of critical and responsible design (e.g. value-centred design, feminist HCI), examining the long-term effects of technology on welfare and social impact, and proposing designs that contribute to lasting well-being.

This course offers a balance of theoretical exploration and hands-on practice, preparing students to thoughtfully design HCI solutions that genuinely support well-being and quality of life.