Digital Twins for Digital Societies

The Digital Twins in Digital Society course is an 8-week hybrid program that integrates online learning with practical prototyping to examine the impactful role of Digital Twins (DTs) in contemporary society. The course, intended for interdisciplinary learners, integrates theory, technology, and societal impact through a systematic progression of weekly topics and activities.

The course commences with an introduction to the concept of the digital society and the rise of Digital Twins as essential elements in socio-technical systems. Students analyse the impact of digital technologies on public infrastructure, governance, and everyday life. The course subsequently explores the underlying architecture of Digital Twin systems, including physical-virtual integration, system lifecycles, and the principles of systems thinking.

In the upcoming weeks, students investigate the fundamental components of Digital Twins, encompassing sensors, Internet of Things technologies, data collecting, real-time synchronisation, actuation, and system feedback loops. This is succeeded by an emphasis on simulation, prediction, and optimisation methodologies employed to model and manage intricate systems, including mobility networks, energy grids, and climate infrastructure.

At the midpoint of the course, students transition to challenge-based learning. They recognise tangible societal or environmental issues appropriate for design thinking applications, conduct stakeholder mapping, and assemble interdisciplinary teams. These teams initiate the creation of their digital transformation use cases by incorporating ethical, environmental, and human-centered considerations.

Students improve their use-case concepts, establish fundamental system architecture, arrange job allocation, and investigate rapid prototyping techniques in preparation for the final project. This project concludes with Capstone Week, carried out in person at the Eindhoven Digital Twin Lab. In this immersive event, students construct, evaluate, and showcase a practical prototype of a Digital Twin system that tackles a genuine societal issue.

The course equips students to innovatively create and execute Digital Twin solutions that yield significant societal benefits by integrating theoretical knowledge, technical expertise, and ethical considerations.

Upon completion of the course Digital Twins in Digital Society, students will exhibit both theoretical comprehension and practical proficiency across the entirety of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Students will articulate the function of Digital Twins in influencing contemporary digital societies and elucidate the fundamental components, structures, and lifecycles of Digital Twin systems, encompassing physical-virtual integration and real-time synchronisation.

They will utilise sensor and IoT technologies for data gathering, processing, and visualisation, and employ simulation and optimisation methodologies to facilitate real-time, data-driven decision-making.

Students will evaluate real-world societal concerns and examine the ethical, environmental, and stakeholder ramifications of Digital Twin applications in domains such as urban systems, energy, and healthcare.
They will assess different design methodologies and system architectures on their efficacy, scalability, and societal impact, while also analysing peer contributions and collaborative tactics.

Students will ultimately develop, construct, and present a comprehensively documented Digital Twin system that addresses a genuine societal need, demonstrating their capacity to integrate technological, social, and ethical aspects into a functional solution.

• A mix of textbooks, case studies, and practical resources will be available to students. Topics covered in each week's contents include ethics, data integration, system design, and the digital society. Software for simulation and visualisation, platforms for collaboration, and open datasets are all examples of technical resources. We will supply you with templates for developing use cases, identifying stakeholders, and documenting your project. Students will have the opportunity to utilise the Eindhoven Digital Twin Lab's prototyping kits and other lab equipment to create and showcase their final projects during Capstone Week.