Core and Emerging Technologies

BMAN75421 Core and Emerging Technologies 15 Semester 1 Postgraduate Taught Level 7 Panos Constantinides Unit coordinator Juan Camilo Giraldo Mora Unit coordinator Alliance Manchester Business School 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 In today's digital world, understanding core and emerging technologies is critical for navigating and leading digital transformation across industries. This course explores a range of technologies reshaping business landscapes, including (but not limited to) artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing. By unravelling the digital ecosystem, students will examine the interaction between different technologies, both emerging and legacy, and be challenged to explore technological trends, identifying the opportunities, threats, and disruptions that industries are likely to encounter.Through a combination of theoretical perspectives and practice-based activities, students will review a diverse range of digital technologies and their related phenomena to understand the ecosystemic dynamics and implications of digital transformations. This experiential learning approach equips students with the skills necessary to create value through digital technologies and successfully and responsibly deliver on digital transformation initiatives. In today's digital world, understanding core and emerging technologies is critical for navigating and leading digital transformation across industries. This course explores a range of technologies reshaping business landscapes, including (but not limited to) artificial intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud computing. By unravelling the digital ecosystem, students will examine the interaction between different technologies, both emerging and legacy, and be challenged to explore technological trends, identifying the opportunities, threats, and disruptions that industries are likely to encounter.Through a combination of theoretical perspectives and practice-based activities, students will review a diverse range of digital technologies and their related phenomena to understand the ecosystemic dynamics and implications of digital transformations. This experiential learning approach equips students with the skills necessary to create value through digital technologies and successfully and responsibly deliver on digital transformation initiatives. The unit aims to:<ol><li>Provide students with an in-depth understanding of both established and emerging technologies that are influencing and transforming industries.</li><li>Equip students with the knowledge and skills to deal with change of technology.</li><li>Guide students to critically evaluate the impact of these technologies on business models, operations, and industry landscapes.</li><li>Enable students to identify and assess the potential of emerging technologies in driving digital transformation within organizations.  </li></ol> Analyse and critically evaluate a range of core and emerging technologies, understanding their principles, applications, and potential impact on business models and industry practices.Explain how emerging and legacy technologies interact within a digital ecosystem to drive innovation and digital transformation in various sectors. Identify and assess the opportunities, challenges, and disruptions that emerging technologies present to industries.Critically reflect on the societal, ethical, and operational implications of adopting emerging technologies. Apply technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT, and extended reality to address real-world business problems and support digital innovation.Apply different perspectives on the impacts of core and emerging technologies to assess and to stay current with specific technological advancements and their consequences across industries. Research core and emerging technology-driven solutions.Effectively communicate complex technological concepts. Introduction to Core and Emerging TechnologiesArtificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine LearningThe Internet of Things (IoT) and ConnectivityExtended Reality (AR, VR, and MR)Blockchain and Distributed Ledger TechnologiesIndustry Engagement SessionCybersecurity and Risks with Digital TechnologyCloud Computing and Data AnalyticsDigital Technology and Responsible Digital TransformationCore and Emerging Technologies Unit Recap This course will consist of lectures (10 x 1 hours), seminars/labs (10 x 2 hours), and independent learning (120 hours).This course will consist of lectures, whereby students will be required to have used part of their independent learning hours to prepare making use of resources made available prior to lectures (pre-recorded videos, readings, news, digital tools, and resources made available by tutors leading co-requisite courses).The course will also consist of weekly seminar/ lab sessions, which will offer students the opportunity to consolidate learning and experientially put theory into practice. Students will not only conduct readings but also have the opportunity to experiment with the technologies being reviewed and work on real life cases.Students will also have independent learning time which should be used to consolidate learning. 0 Other 100% Group Project 40%Exam 60% After the end of the unit. Global written feedback provided on Canvas N Bailey, D. E., et al. (2022). "We Are All Theorists of Technology Now: A Relational Perspective on Emerging Technology and Organizing." Organization science 33(1): 1-18.Baskerville, R. L., et al. (2020). "Digital First: The Ontological Reversal and New Challenges for Information Systems Research." MIS quarterly 44 (2): 509-523Brynjolfsson, E., Li, D., & Raymond, L. (2025). Generative AI at Work*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 140(2), 889-942. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjae044">https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjae044</a>Filippi, P. D. and S. Hassan (2016). "Blockchain technology as a regulatory technology: From code is law to law is code." First Monday 21(12): 1.Kallinikos, J. and Y. Yoo (2025). Digital Innovation. Handbook of Innovation: Perspectives from the Social Sciences. I. Schulz-Schaeffer, A. Windeler and B. Blättel-Mink. Cham, Springer Nature Switzerland: 1-15Markus, M. L. and F. Rowe (2023). "The Digital Transformation Conundrum: Labels, Definitions, Phenomena, and Theories." Journal of the Association for Information Systems 24(2): 328-335.Márton, A. (2022). "Steps toward a digital ecology: ecological principles for the study of digital ecosystems." Journal of information technology 37(3): 250-265.Monteiro, E. and E. Parmiggiani (2019). "Synthetic Knowing: The Politics of the Internet of Things." MIS quarterly 43(1): 167-184Sarker, S., et al. (2019). "The sociotechnical axis of cohesion for the IS discipline: Its historical legacy and its continued relevance." MIS quarterly 43(3): 695-719Schneier, B. and A. Vance (2025). "”Complexity is the Worst Enemy of Security": Studying Cybersecurity Through the Lens of Organizational Complexity." MIS quarterly 49(1): 205-210.Vial, G. (2019). "Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda." The journal of strategic information systems 28(2): 118-144Venters, W. and E. A. Whitley (2012). "A critical review of cloud computing: researching desires and realities." Journal of information technology 27(3): 179-197. Lectures 10 Seminars 20 0 120