Twin Transition in the EU Context

How can digital technologies help shape a more sustainable future? And under which conditions do they create new challenges?

This course introduces students to the relationship between digital industrial technologies and sustainability by combining two complementary perspectives: Industry 4.0 and Technology Assessment (TA). Students will explore the basic principles of Industry 4.0 and discuss concrete examples such as additive manufacturing, smart production systems, artificial intelligence, robotics, and data-driven industrial processes. At the same time, the course asks how these technological developments can be assessed from a broader societal perspective. Technology Assessment helps students analyse potential environmental effects, social consequences, economic implications, and governance challenges of digital innovation.

Bringing both perspectives together, the course situates Industry 4.0 and TA within the idea of the Twin Transition: the parallel digital and green transformation currently promoted in European strategies. Students will discuss how digital innovation can contribute to sustainability goals — and where tensions, trade-offs, or unintended consequences may arise.

The course is taught in English and is open to local and international students of the EURECA-PRO European University Alliance. International teamwork and exchange across different academic and cultural backgrounds are explicitly encouraged.

In addition to the lecture, students may participate in the accompanying seminar and work on a practical case study. Successful completion of the seminar offers the opportunity to obtain a Microcredential Certificate.

Join the course and explore how Industry 4.0 can be shaped responsibly for a sustainable European future.