Increasing Interdisciplinarity by Distance Learning: Examples Connecting Economics with Software Engineering, and Computing with Philosophy

This paper presents two distance courses aimed at promoting interdisciplinarity. The first one was an internet-based distance undergraduate course in software engineering and management of software development projects for students of management and economy. The goal of the course was to bridge the gap between disciplines of economy (management) and software engineering, transfer knowledge and provide necessary technical background for future managers who very likely in their careers will take part in software intense projects. Both the interdisciplinarity and the advanced e-learning technology of this course made it challenging. The second was a specialized level Swedish National Course in Philosophy of Computing and Informatics for students of computing, philosophy and design, which was a combination of a campus-based and a distance course involving several Swedish universities, with a group of distinguished teachers from both Sweden and abroad. The critical challenge of this course was the establishing of a new inter-discipline and overarching the gaps between traditions of disciplinary thinking.