Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26
None
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
Basic IT skills (such as use of email, web browsers and office tools)
This module will enable students to gain an understanding of the sustainability challenges facing the IT industry and of the strategies and techniques that are available to address these challenges. It will also cover ways in which IT can enhance sustainability in other sectors (e.g. through the use of simulation and modelling software and IT tools such as video conferencing).
Aims
This module addresses the impact of IT on the environment and provides a range of strategies and techniques for reducing that impact.It also addresses the utilisation of IT in support of sustainability in other sectors and identifies opportunities for extending such use.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Critically evaluate the appropriateness of strategies and techniques for improving IT sustainability: 1,2Communicate evidence and conclusions relating to contemporary green IT questions using a range of media: 1,2Critically evaluate strategies and techniques by which IT can enable sustainability in other sectors: 2
24 hours of scheduled synchronous class activity (i.e., lectures/ seminars)24 hours of session preparation and review, literature scoping, reading etc50 hours coursework preparation52 hours personal study
Description of Module Assessment
1: Group Assessment weighted 25%10 minute group presentationContemporary Green IT challenges, a pre-recorded 10 minute group PowerPoint presentation / video on one of the following topics:
a) The lifecycle of a computer: green options. Computers and related hardware rely on more and more chemical elements many of which are mined using environmentally destructive processes. During its working live this hardware consumes electrical energy and generates heat. At the end of its life the hardware is often discarded in poorly controlled landfill sites. Your presentation should highlight the issues involved and present options that can help reduce the environmental impact of the lifecycle. You can either provide a summary of the whole lifecycle or choose one stage for a more detailed analysis.
b) Is “the Cloud” green? Computing has evolved from discrete devices working in isolation to a system of interconnected resources that can provide service-based processing and storage. This distributed provision is often referred to as “the Cloud” and can lead to economies of scale, streamlined hardware, and co-locations with sustainable energy. However, the Cloud is a prime example of the Jevons Paradox. Your presentation will discuss the Cloud in terms of sustainability its advantages, disadvantages and how the later might be mitigated.
c) Remote working, is it green? IT offers a wide range of remote working options, from videoconferencing to full connectivity to corporate networks. However, remote working has largely be the exception rather than the rule. The national lockdowns instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted remote working at a hither too unprecedented scale. Office work, meetings, monitoring, and education all moved online reducing the need for travel and office infrastructure. But does this represent a sustainable long-term change? Your presentation should address the advantages and disadvantages of remote working in terms of sustainability, economic, and social issues.
The presentation should be pitched to an audience of peers (i.e. MSc level) and will last up to 10 minutes.
Groups are expected to consist of up to 4 students. One presentation is to be submitted per group but all students also need to submit an individual task contribution & peer review assessment form. Groups receive a single mark unless issues with contributions are noted.
2: Report weighted 75%3000 word individual reportGreen IT: Strategies and techniques, a critical evaluation of one of the following topics:
a) Strategies and techniques for improving the sustainability of one IT system or technology (for example, the personal computer, mobile phones, or data centres). Your report will consider the systems carbon footprint and impact on natural resources. The report will then consider methods by which these impacts can be reduced along with any barriers to their implementation.
b) The ability of IT systems to provide remote sensing, “big data”, and telepresence to name but a few has led to increased sustainability in sectors as from agriculture to building management. Your report will focus on one sector that has benefited or could benefit from IT. The report will present the impact of IT, on the sustainability of the selected sector in line with accepted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report will consider any issues that arise or barriers to implementation.
