University of Cape Town - Integrated approach

1st year - Introduction to information systems

Two of the modules in the theory section cover social, ethical, legal and professional issues, these being a module on “Cybercrime and Information Systems Security” and another on “Ethical, Legal and Social Issues of Information Systems”.

2nd year - Business intelligence (BI) and analytics

Students gain a current and realistic view of the BI and analytics field locally and internationally through one of the modules, entitled “Cases, Surveys and Management Aspects of BI”.

2nd year - Systems analysis and design

One of the course objectives is to explain the key role of a systems analyst in business.

3rd year - Electronic commerce

One of the learning outcomes is the understanding of the business environment online (block chain, factors influencing eCommerce, electronic payment systems, security and privacy, resource and implementation, web metrics, eCommerce strategy and policies, the South African ECT Act, as well as e-commerce practices in the context of developing countries).

3rd year - Business process management and enterprise systems

One of the objectives is to highlight the role of IS professionals in business process design and management and in the implementation and support of enterprise applications. Business process compliance is also taught and examined.

3rd year - Systems development project

Social, ethical, legal and professional issues are included as part of the systems development project design. Also included in the course are reflective practise readers which are assessed through blogs and in the mid-year exam. Student presentations provide evidence of understanding of these issues.

3rd year - IT project management (for IS and CS double major students)

This course places great emphasis on analysing social, ethical, legal and professional issues as implicated in IT projects. Selected readings form part of a reflective assignment and are used to unpack how to best train project management professionals. Other readings are used to unpack societal and contextual issues related to project management practice.

Honours year

• Honours students develop strong communication, interpersonal and change agent skills through preparing and managing seminars on IS management and development topics. Social, ethical, legal and professional issues must be considered when crafting their argument in their seminar paper.
• In the systems development project module, students are expected to regularly meet with industry sponsors to clarify requirements, and develop communication (verbal and written), teamwork and project management skills.
• Community spirit is developed through the Honours Outreach and Community Involvement Programme (HOCIP), where students are required to do a minimum of 30 hours individual community service. At least one hour per student has to be spent at a high school promoting Information Systems. Each student must register for and attend the Global Citizen course. One of the deliverables includes a self-made video (maximum 5 minutes) of work the student has performed, plus some reflection.
• For the empirical research project, students select a topic related to IS education, management, development, implementation, adoption, use or impact, typically in the context of the developing world, and where the unit of analysis is either the individual, group, community, organisation or society in general.