Study Programmes 2015-2016
GEST3762-1  
Digital Business
Duration :
18h Th
Number of credits :
Master in management, professional focus in law and management3
Master in management, professional focus in law3
Master in management (120 ECTS)3
Master in management (60 ECTS)3
Master in human resources management (120 ECTS)3
Master in human resources management (120 ECTS)3
Lecturer :
André Blavier
Language(s) of instruction :
English language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Course contents :
The digital revolution has entered a new phase, stronger and more disruptive. Companies and organizations must start a deep reflexion on their digital transformation (business models, marketing, training, work organization and human resources, relationships with customers, partners and suppliers, research and development, ...). As a leading management school, HEC-ULg wants to prepare its students to this new Digital world and the opportunities of Digital business. The course will be divided in three main parts.
  • Introduction to the digital transformation through the 4 main axes that are driving this transformation: (Big/Smart/Open) Data, Cloud computing, Mobile technologies (including IoT) and Social Empowerment.
  • E-business, e-commerce and digital marketing. State of the art (Web standards, platforms, e-business models, content strategies, display, SEO/SEA/SMM, permission marketing, social technolgies, mobile marketing, ...). This will be the biggest part of the course.
  • The third digital revolution : the Internet of Everything. Introduction to the Internet of Everything, with 3 main topics : the media industry as example of how digital transforms established sectors, the digital workplace as example of how digital changes the way we work, and the Industry 4.0 as example of how digital can reshape our industrial economy.
Learning outcomes of the course :
At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the main challenges and opportunities related to the 3 main topics.
They will also know and understand the core technologies and concepts behind the digital business, and how they interact inside companies and economic sectors.
They will be able to perform an efficient technology watch to keep their understunding of the digital business up to date.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
None.
In the future, the new "digital transformation" course given in 2nd BAC will be a kind of introduction for the course.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
6 lessons (3 hours) are planned. All of them will be performed by André Blavier.
The course will include three types of activities:
  • Traditional lessons, organized by topics (see above).
  • Lectures by professionals coming from ICT companies (depending on their disponibility).
  • Group works.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Students will have tho opportunity to use interactive and collaboration tools (RSS feeds, email alerts, sharing tools, etc.).
Group works (3 to 4 students) will be organized for the 5 last lessons. The week before each of them, a topic will be given to a limited number of groups. Two randomly chosen will have to make a presentation in front of the class.
Recommended or required readings :
  • The course will be mainly supported by "Powerpoint" presentations. These presentations must be used as a detailled plan for the course and will have to be completed by information and references given during the lessons.
  • Supports and documentation will be available on Lol@ at least one day before each lesson.  Multimedia contents, reference websites, studies, newsletters, people to follow, ... will also be available on Lol@. The idea is to provide scalable and evolutive supports that students will continue to use in their future professional life. 
  • Students are also invited to follow the Twiter account @unpeudeblabla (a specific hashtag will be used for the course), and the Scoop.it account unpeudeblabla.
Assessment methods and criteria :
Group works will be evaluated.
The way the final written exam will be organized will be decided during the course, depending on the global required volume of work.
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
See "Mode of delivery"
Contacts :
André Blavier