Study Abroad | London
Summer 2024: Academics

Course Code: ISSU0097

Instruction Language: English

The digital revolution of the 21st century is permeating various aspects of businesses, industries and society as a whole. The smart cities development is the result of the digital technologies, fast paced innovations and the need to achieve the sustainable development goals. The digital transformation in smart cities is enabling dramatic shifts in business models, business services and the way we live. This course provides the essential knowledge and skills that prepares students to understand and critically analyze the digital transformation strategies in the fast and dynamically changing environment that we currently live in. The knowledge and skills that the students will learn in this module is relevant to students of all disciplines as almost all organizations are impacted by the digital transformations.

Course Code: ISSU0023

Instruction Language: English

This module covers: the new business lifecycle (selecting and testing a moneymaking idea, preparing a business plan, raising finance, the Exit), aspects of new business operation (registering a company, setting up your office, understanding financial statements), and exploiting new eCommerce tools and techniques (doing business electronically, company web sites, online business software and services). Invention and innovation – finding and qualifying new opportunities. Business Model Generation

Course Code: ISSU0010

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the economics of globalisation. The module explores reasons why classical economists thought comparative advantage (or differences between countries) was the basis for international trade, when in the past few decades the bulk of international trade has been between very similar countries. The effects of the growing importance of international trade will be studied, with a focus on recent trade agreements and their projected consequences. The second part of the module considers one of the hottest topics in any country – immigration. The causes and effects of migration will be studied and data and policy analysis will be conducted to investigate the immigration regimes of some popular migrant destinations.

Course Code: ISSU0101

Instruction Language: English

Today, project management and project involvement are seen as vital parts of all aspects of organisation development and the development of management expertise. In the module we cover: * The processes of project management: including project life cycles; work breakdown structures; activity scheduling; critical paths; networks and Gantt charts; * Leading and managing the project team; * Project finances and resourcing; * The environment and project risk and its management;* Project administration and the work of the project office; * Project development and the critical aspects of using project work in all aspects of organisation change and development. The module delivers a fully comprehensive introduction to the whole field of project management, so that by the end of the course, you will have a very sound basis for developing expertise and substantial knowledge in this part of leadership and management.

Course Code: ISSU0070

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces the students to the aspects of how risk management methods are applied to improve cyber security. Firstly, it provides an overview of threats from cybercrimes followed by vulnerabilities and situational crime prevention techniques that provide mechanisms for cyber security. It then explains the principles of cyber security risk management that drives the decision making to protect organisations from cyber-attacks. Lastly, the key aspects of incident response planning and resilience in cyber risk management are outlined. Students will work in teams to identify, assess and prioritise cyber risks for a case study. The students will also get an opportunity to create a cybersecurity risk management plan within the same case study.

Course Code: ISSU0098

Instruction Language: English

This 1st year, undergraduate core course covers the basic technical aspects of dynamic website construction concerning the front end (client) and the back end (server). It aims to develop a springboard for web-related technologies that require data collection, organisation and maintenance of accessible websites, through symantic layouts and with an introduction to object orientated coding practices. It focuses on developing skills in using HTML, CSS, jQuery, with PHP and SQL and covers aspects of data flow and web data management.

Course Code: ISSU0053

Instruction Language: English

Data Science is an exciting new area that combines scientific inquiry, statistical knowledge, substantive expertise, and computer programming. One of the main challenges for businesses and policy makers when using big data is to find people with the appropriate skills. Students taking this module will be introduced to the most fundamental data analytic tools and techniques, and learn how to use specialised software to analyse real-world data and answer policy-relevant questions.

Course Code: ISSU0129

Instruction Language: English

Machine Learning is now close to ubiquitous, but many students feel overwhelmed by the continuous mathematics required to fully engage with the area. This module seeks to offer students a grounding in the language of modern machine learning, with a focus on particular topics in Linear Algebra, Differential Calculus, Probability and Statistics. Rather than focusing on theorems and their proofs, the module will seek to cover the key tools (and theorems) within the topic areas, and to illustrate these with exemplars drawn from machine learning. The module will be delivered through a mixture of lectures and classes, and will involve a mix of traditional lecture delivery, interactive notebooks and problem sets.

Course Code: ISSU0017

Instruction Language: English

This module will provide an introduction to the phenomena of radicalization and terrorism; including key definitions, causal accounts, empirical trends, past and present manifestations, current groups, and tactics. Through successive case studies, students will familiarize themselves with the following five approaches to prevention and disruption: Efforts to anticipate and prevent terrorism acts through situational measures; enforcement measures used to disrupt, disable or suppress the activities of terrorist networks; interventions aimed at the individual actor, their risk factors, belief systems and pathways out of terrorism involvement; removal of the economic basis for terrorist activities by attacking organized crime; and strategies which focus on the “root causes” of terrorism and radicalization.

Course Code: ISSU0015

Instruction Language: English

This module focuses on the visual representation of London from the Victorian to the contemporary period. In particular, it aims to analyse how artists and filmmakers have expressed their perception of the city as a dark site of social tensions, vice, mystery, crime and detective work. The module will introduce the city through illustrations (Doré, Cruickshank) and documentaries (Keiller, Ackroyd), and then will concentrate on key works of crime cinema set in London (Dassin, Hitchcock, Ritchie). It will consist of lectures on historical and theoretical subjects, seminars, screenings, and it will be supplemented by visits to UCL Collections and other London Museums. Please note that some films contain graphic descriptions of violence.

Course Code: ISSU0118

Instruction Language: English

Throughout the 20th century, economics became more mathematical as a discipline and now requires sophisticated mathematical tools and techniques to solve problems arising in economics. The aim of this course is to provide students with some of the necessary mathematical background to study economics more effectively and more rewardingly.

Course Code: ISSU0096

Instruction Language: English

The module will explore the role of money and banking in normal and crisis times as well as the most recent developments in the financial industry, namely cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. In particular, we will investigate the role of credit for economic growth, why do banks exist and how do they compete. We will then research how banks possibly triggered the Great Financial Crisis (2007-8) as well as governments’ policies in response. Finally, we will devote our attention to the most recent development in the money and credit markets, such as blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, with specific emphasis on bitcoins. The module will be articulated around standard theoretical models, empirical evidence, policy developments and case studies. With the latter respect we will take advantage of the international dimension of the UCL Summer School and we will draw from the experiences of different countries in the world. *Pre-requisites: students will be expected to have knowledge of basic economic concepts.

Course Code: ISSU0103

Instruction Language: English

This module provides a general introduction to educational studies through the use of media. Media understood here includes both fictional (e.g. film and literature) and non-fictional sources (e.g. TV shows and documentaries). The module will consider how various educational concepts are represented through media, including (but not limited to) teacher-student relationships and identities, educational curricula, schooling, the function of academic institutions, as well as broader understandings of what constitutes education itself. Through engaging with selected sources, questions around what education is and how education is represented will be considered. Students will consider the value of both fictional and non-fictional sources when thinking, researching, and writing about education, as tools for both entertainment and insight. This will further raise questions around performativity and reliability in education and educational research, the relationship between representation and reality, and the ways in which understandings of reality are affected by such images more broadly.

Course Code: ISSU0115

Instruction Language: English

Have you ever thought of writing but never got down to it? Are you stuck in a rut experiencing writer’s block? Or, would you like to take your writing to the next step but don’t know where to start? Confused by conventions, stereotypes, genres? This intensive three-week module aims to explore, experiment, and discover your creative writing superpowers and tastes and embrace creative writing as an ongoing process, an entrepreneurial ‘fail better’ and ‘succeed together’ via constructive feedback experience.

Course Code: ISSU0001

Instruction Language: English

This module will introduce students to the discipline of Film Studies by focusing on the main theoretical and technical aspects of filmmaking. Through lectures, seminars, screenings and excursions, students will learn how to approach and discuss films analytically and will acquire an awareness of the history and development of cinema and of the key concepts that can be used to discuss and write about films.

Course Code: ISSU0062

Instruction Language: English

Quantitative Finance remains one of the fastest growing areas in modern finance. Alternative names are Financial Engineering, Mathematical Finance or Financial Mathematics. This is an application based course on the mathematical and computational aspects of derivative pricing. It lies at the heart of mathematics, computing, finance and economics. Both theory and numerical techniques will be presented, with computer simulations performed on MS Excel. If you are interested in technical finance and have wondered what Brownian Motion is, or how Monte Carlo methods are used to price options; then this module is precisely what you are looking for – covering Itô Calculus, Black-Scholes world and Monte Carlo simulations. This is not a theorem-proof based course, but all results will be derived.

Course Code: ISSU0104

Instruction Language: English

This module will provide an overview of ‘classical’ and contemporary theorizations of gender, and of the multiple ways in which gender is encountered in every aspect of our lives. The different ways of defining gender issues and shaping gender politics in Western and non-Western societies will be considered. We will study the historical and cultural contexts in which the main debates have arisen and analyse themes such as gender, identity, sexuality, motherhood, nationhood, ethnicity, ‘race’ and religion. A variety of genres including press, novel, film and essay will be examined with the purpose of considering how gender and sexuality are conceptualised within Western society, focusing on the UK. Students will explore how media and popular culture can reinforce or challenge traditional notions of gender that perpetuate inequalities.

Course Code: ISSU0005

Instruction Language: English

This course will use London to explore how contemporary cities are being theorized, experienced and understood. Consideration will be given to how cities are conceptualised in and through the context of globalisation. The concept of ‘global cities’ will be contrasted with perspectives that emphasise the ‘ordinary’ quality of cities, to allow students to engage analytically and critically with the complexities and diversities of urban life and experiences. A range of interdisciplinary themes within urban studies will be employed to explore the diverse socio-spatial and cultural dynamics and practices both with respect to London and to student’s home cities. Each week students will use a different theme through which to understand processes in London and other urban contexts.

Course Code: ISSU4444

Instruction Language: English

Students will be introduced to the fundamental principles of clinical research studies, with emphasis on clinical trials rather than observational studies. Students will be guided through the design, conduct, and analysis and reporting of clinical trials and the common sub-studies often added to them (e.g. health economics). Students will be introduced to systematic reviews and meta-analyses and the important role they play in answering important clinical research questions. A session of the course will be dedicated to the role patients and consumers can play in clinical trial design, conduct and reporting.

Course Code: ISSU0025

Instruction Language: English

Provides an introduction to the discipline of global health. Each week will be framed around the ‘wicked problems’ facing our world and the ways in which the individual can engage with global issues. Topics covered include access and availability of healthcare, inequality, poverty, ethics, aid, and the key actors in global health. A symposium will be held, whereby students can speak to academics and public sector actors about the topics covered in the module. Each week will begin with a U.K. case study relating to a core topic, and end with an excursion to a local site of significance in the development of the global health discipline. These excursions will link UCL’s core value of equality with the rich history of social welfare and public health that began in London in the 1700s.

Course Code: ISSU0051

Instruction Language: English

The use of nanotechnology in medicine is an emerging field that can revolutionise the treatment and detection of disease. Through hands-on laboratory sessions, workshops and lectures by world-leading researchers and active clinicians, this module offers both an insight into these emerging technologies and a fundamental understanding of why size matters and how nanoscale technologies interact with biological environments. We will visit the nanoscale quantum universe, and see how nanoscale objects can be tuned for disease targeting. Students will see how this small scale technology offers huge leaps in diagnostics and therapeutics, enabling us to break the boundary from macroscale anatomy to nanoscale biologics. Please note there will be a £100 bench fee for the use of labs and consumable materials.

Course Code: ISSU0117

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the study of foreign policy. As a sub-field of International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) concentrates on decision making and how international, domestic, and individual pressures shape the actions states take. The module will focus on explaining and understanding the process of foreign policy decision making, the foreign policy instruments available to policy makers, and the differing strategies that states employ in achieving their aims. Students will learn about major concepts and theoretical approaches that help explain why and how states and foreign policy makers behave the way that they do. Students will be introduced to major debates in the study of foreign policy such as the debate on ethical foreign policy and the role of leadership in determining foreign policy conduct. The classes will combine a discussion of key concepts and theories with their application to selected countries and international organizations. The module first looks at major theoretical paradigms and key concepts in the study of foreign policy and then moves on to examine empirical debates and case studies.

Course Code: ISSU0102

Instruction Language: English

This module deals with the empirical reality, theory, and current governance problems of development, poverty, and inequality. Specifically, throughout the course we will investigate the influence of colonialism, state capacity, regime type, war and conflict, accountability, social structures, and corruption on development. This course engages with both economic theory regarding development and political science research that highlights the challenges to implementing the policies that would lead to economic development. We take these theories and use to them to then think about and develop research-informed policies that promote development.

Course Code: ISSU0064

Instruction Language: English

Does the court have the power to hear and decide a dispute arising out of an international commercial transaction? Will that power be exercised? Which law will be applied to resolve an international contractual, tortious or property dispute? Once the court gives a judgment, will that judgment have any effect outside the territory of the court? This module introduces students to the legal regulation of commercial relationships having strong connections with more than one legal system. Although the focus is on litigation before English courts, an international perspective will be adopted. The implications of Brexit in jurisdictional and recognition rules will be considered. The traditional English principles and rules concerning international commercial litigation form the basis of the law in many, primarily common law, jurisdictions and regained relevance in the light of Brexit. Emphasis will also be placed on the relevant principles and rules of European Union law applicable before the courts across Europe and on the Hague Conventions applicable between State Parties.

Course Code: ISSU0119

Instruction Language: English

This module is a dynamic exploration of William Shakespeare’s London and literature inspired by and set in his city. The module is designed to introduce students to the historical and cultural milieu of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century London through a variety of genres, including drama, prose, verse and broadside ballads. Historical accounts, artefacts and maps will provide context to the rich material for critical reading offered by these texts. Students will learn about historical research methodologies while sharpening their literary close reading skills. The students will work in group discussion seminars and individually on assignments, allowing them to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding of Shakespeare’s London as we receive it through his works and those of his contemporaries. The three-week module will be taught with lectures, discussion seminars, skills workshops, group activities and excursions to historical sites associated with Shakespeare and his contemporaries such as playhouses, to include a guided tour of the backstage areas of the Globe Theatre and a live performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays.

Course Code: ISSU0125

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the principles of health professions education and its application to practice. It will guide them through learning about key theories in health professions education and they will gain key skills needed to effectively teach in formal and informal environments. It will explore the use of feedback in teaching and learning and peer-assisted learning. It will focus on reviewing educational research and how this can inform clinical practice as well as explore the design and delivery of assessment. The module will focus on putting the knowledge and skills learned into practice through teaching peers, colleagues, patients and future generations.

Course Code: ISSU0009

Instruction Language: English

This module will introduce students to the idea of what human rights are and different explanations about where rights come from. From there we will briefly examine how human rights have changed and become imbedded in international law since World War II. Next we will ask why governments repress the rights of their citizens. In particular we will try to understand the political advantage governments seek through violating human rights. Next we will examine what are the economic and social consequences of repression. Finally we will examine if previous cycles of repression like slavery for example make countries more likely to use violence today. Throughout the class we will use examples from the world around us to test and illustrate the arguments made in the literature, the conflicts in Myanmar, Syria and Iraq, and the former conflicts in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland are a few examples.

Course Code: ISSU0041

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the key findings and theories concerning how people think, feel and behave in organizations. It is equally relevant to students wishing to gain an understanding of business psychology at the university level as it is to students keen on developing hands-on skills that can be applied in organisational settings. The module focuses on topics such as motivation, negotiations, group and network dynamics, social status, influence, and individual personality. The module features interactive lectures, research exercises, and experiential activities, including individual negotiations, group problem-solving, and using data analysis to make strategic business decisions.

Course Code: Language and the Mind: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics

Instruction Language: English

This module is an introduction to Psycholinguistics, an interdisciplinary field of study which aims to understand how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. It will begin by asking what it means to know a language and explore the nature of our linguistic competence. Students will examine core properties of mental representations and processes involved in acquiring and understanding language, and how linguistic processes unfold in real time. Finally, students will explore issues in perception, production and acquisition in three core domains: speech sounds, words, and sentences. The experimental studies discussed in the lectures and seminars include those which employed eye tracking and EEG in reading, comprehension and lexical decision tasks, as well as semantic and syntactic priming in comprehension and production tasks.

Course Code: ISSU0014

Instruction Language: English

Our aim is to develop students’ psychological literacy through the cycle of enquiry and evidence. Students will be introduced to key conceptual issues, methodological approaches and significant findings in scientific psychology, their historical background, and the kinds of empirical evidence on which these findings are based. We will take simple questions, and cut across traditional disciplines looking for answers.

Course Code: ISSU0066

Instruction Language: English

The module in its scope, aims to offer exposure to the fundamental principles of special and general relativity and their significance to the evolution of the Cosmos. Topics such as stellar interiors, classification and evolution along with galaxy dynamics will be discussed in some detail. The module will culminate with descriptions of current cosmological models and touch on recent developments of the much discussed dark matter and dark energy mysteries and what they entail to the evolution of the Universe.

Course Code: ISSU0093

Instruction Language: English

This module will introduce the issues surrounding climate change, sustainability issues and use of resources, such as limits to grow, the role decisions making and governance of resource use in different economies. The module will provide an understanding on global challenges that requires locally designed interventions and actions. It will provide an understanding of the relationships between human needs and resource use (water, energy, land, materials, food) under different climatic scenarios, by introducing some of the key methodological tools for understanding the sustainability of resource use. Our goal is to expose you to a range of issues and understand trade-offs between resource use and draw on practical case studies (islands), discuss possible solutions, how to communicate and engage with decision makers and general public. We choose islands as case studies, because there are more than 750 million people living on islands, from the densely populated urban centres of the Philippines and Hawaii’s to the atolls and archipelagos of the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean. Furthermore, islands are at the front line of the effects of climate change. Key challenges: rising temperature and sea levels, lack of fresh water supply, plastic pollution, sewage blockages, high number of tourists in season time, dependence on fossil fuels imports and high prices.

Course Code: ISSU0116

Instruction Language: English

The brain develops rapidly during the fetal and early postnatal period. While some aspects of development are genetically guided, others are activity-dependent. This means that special patterns of spontaneous electrical activity are required to correctly wire up the brain. This partly explains why fetal and neonatal brain injury can result in life-long negative consequences. Brain injury can result in either suppressed electrical activity or excessive electrical activity in the form of seizures. As a result, fragile early brain networks do not receive the carefully balanced patterns of electrical activity which they need to develop correctly. In this module you will learn about this critical foundation of normal brain development, and how it can go wrong.

Course Code: ISSU0065

Instruction Language: English

This module will look at what we know about healthy brains – how the brain is structured, the different types of brain cells, localisation of function and neurochemistry of different brain areas, communication within the brain and how we investigate the brain in week 1. In weeks 2 and 3 the module will look at dysfunction in relation to vison, hearing, movement, memory, thinking, emotion and behaviour. UCL is ranked as second in the world for neuroscience and students will get to hear about the amazing world class research that takes place within the Faculty of Brain Sciences and its constituent parts: the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, the Division of Psychiatry, the Institutes of Ophthalmology and Neurology and the Ear Institute.

Course Code: ISSU0093

Instruction Language: English

There are more than 750 million people living on islands, from the densely populated urban centres of the Philippines and Hawaii’s to the atolls and archipelagos of the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean. Climate change is a global challenge that requires locally designed interventions and action. Islands are at the front line of the effects of climate change. Key challenges: rising temperature and sea levels, lack of fresh water supply, plastic pollution, sewage blockages, high number of tourists in season time, dependence on fossil fuels imports and high prices. This module provides an understanding of the relationships between human needs and resource use under different climatic scenarios with focus on islands. It explores different perspectives on the goals of improving human wellbeing and environmental. Our goal is to expose you to a range of issues and draw on practical case studies, possible solutions, ways to inform decision-makers and general public.

Course Code: ISSU7777

Instruction Language: English

This module aims to explore the relationship between collective and individual behavior, society and technology. It is especially concerned with how technologies evolve in relation to organizational, collective and individual behavior, and vice versa. We evaluate how technologies deliver (and fail to deliver) profitable, effective and valuable products services processes and activities. The module explores in detail the relationship between society and technology, especially in terms of how and why technologies succeed and fail; the value that technologies deliver (and do not deliver); and the wider position of technology in society. We examine also the relationship between individuals and technology, and how behavior influences how technologies are developed, and how technologies influence and shape behavior.