Course Module Description
General module information
Title: Introduction to economics
Type: course module
Language of instruction: English
ECTS points: 5 ECTS
Period: 1 February 2016 — 30 June 2016
Placement
4th semester, ITCOM 4, Communication and media technologies
Module coordinator
Copenhagen: Iwona Windekilde (coordinator), Maiken Keller (secretary)
Academic content and relationships to other modules/semesters
The formal study plan description of the module can be found here (page X):
http://www.sict.aau.dk/digitalAssets/112/112034_itcom-study-plan-sept-2015.pdf (page 32)
The overall objective is to provide a basic understanding of key concepts in economic theory with
emphasis on microeconomics. Topics include: supply and demand; the theory of consumer choice; price
elasticity of demand and supply; cost structure; market structure; production function, production possibility
frontier, economic analysis of unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Upon completion of the
course, you will be able to analyze microeconomic problems using economic models and apply national
account figures for a description of economic development.
Objectives and learning goals
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
• apply economic theories and methodologies for analysing the markets for ICT services
• apply a variety of economics concepts to both the business and individual decision making process
• apply national account figures for a description of economic development
• explain wage and price determination in an open economy
• apply economics models to real world scenarios
Extent and expected work load
Since it is a 5 ECTS course, the workload is expected to be 150 hours for the student. There will be a
number of lectures (about 10) for the different subjects, and there will be group work and exercises for the
individual lectures.
In Moodle, information about primary and supplementary literature is provided, and it is expected that you
have read the literature belonging to each lecture before the actual lecture is given. This means that with
10 lectures/exercises of 4 hours you have used 40 hours, leaving about 5 hours per lecture to read the
literature and review the slides and other material before and after the lecture; 25 hours to complete
exercises and assignments; and finally 35 hours for preparation for the exam and synopsis. It is strongly
recommended that you use this amount of hours for the course to be able to pass the examination.
Pre-requisites for participation
The prerequisites for participation are listed in the study plan:
http://www.sict.aau.dk/digitalAssets/101/101072_95364_bsc-itcom-150129.pdf
Examination
Internal individual oral examination supported by the synopsis - requirement that synopsis is written by the
student before the oral exam and the grade will depend only on student’s verbal performance and not on
the synopsis.