Distance education boosting interdisciplinarity and internationalization: an experience report from “Ethics, Law and Privacy in Data and Analytics” at SUPSI

The COVID-19 pandemic caused several changes in daily habits and routines. Among all, education faced this problem by massively adopting remote teaching. Despite this constituted, in the initial moment, a wall to climb, several universities keep delivering online or hybrid courses, with the aim of leveraging the benefits of such an approach. On this line, the Bachelor’s degree in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) has broadened its curriculum with the introduction of “Ethics, Law and Privacy in Data and Analytics” as a mandatory module in the fifth semester. This innovative teaching project, piloted during the academic year 2022/2023, tackled the pedagogical challenge of integrating a multidisciplinary subject into the largely technical field of Data Science and AI. Recognizing the necessity for expertise beyond the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI), the module was conducted entirely in English and leveraged online delivery to incorporate a diverse range of international specialists in ethics, law, and relevant technology fields. This poster details the module’s structure, highlighting the inclusion of global perspectives to avoid the limitations of a Swiss-centric view and prepare students for a universal professional environment. It also explores the logistics and pedagogical strategies employed to navigate the complexities of online learning, such as interactive lectures, case studies, role-plays, and flipped classroom sessions.