Emerging Technologies and Action-Oriented Courses

In the 21st century, rapid social development has made learning new skills an inevitable challenge. Today, the 4C competencies—critical thinking, communication skills, creativity and innovation, and teamwork—are widely recognized as essential skills for this century, according to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) in the United States. This program incorporates ELSI (Ethical, Legal, Social, and Environmental Issues) into the curriculum, encouraging students to reflect on the impacts of technological advancements through current events discussions and motivating them to address related issues in proposal activities.

This research project integrates humanities and social thinking across disciplines, covering emerging technologies such as engineering, cryptography, NFTs, the metaverse, and machine learning, with the aim of cultivating technology professionals with both ethical and legal literacy. In the context of rapid technological changes and lagging legislation—such as incidents where schools confiscate students’ public resource mining activities—there is a clear need for students to understand the impacts of technology on society. Therefore, technology professionals must not only master technical skills but also engage in deep reflection on ethical, legal, and social issues.

This project extends the existing curriculum framework from a technology-oriented approach to one focused on problem-solving and social issue exploration, encouraging students to apply knowledge and skills to address contemporary social and environmental challenges. It incorporates social innovation actions into engineering and management courses and develops independent digital course units, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and enhancing students’ practical abilities. Technology-assisted reading materials will further support students’ learning and actions.