Course Objectives
The course(Digital Economy) aims to impart students with the knowledge on basic fundamentals of an economy based on digital technologies.
Course Description
This course is designed to help students build cognitive foundation for fully understanding the
linkages among digital technologies, economy and society at large in the context of emerging
knowledge economy and knowledge societies. At the completion of the course, the students will
be able to articulate overarching fundamentals of digital economy and would have developed
sufficient conceptual grounding for further studying and analyzing key elements of digital
economy. The course delivery method would entail class room lectures based on both primary
and secondary sources of information and knowledge backed by deliberations on case studies
and real world examples. Pedagogical method to be employed would encourage classroom
discussions and references to materials from varied sources.
Course Outcomes
After completing the course:
• students will have sufficient theoretical and conceptual grounding on fundamentals that
define emerging knowledge and digital economy;
• students will be able to effectively pursue advanced studies in emerging IT paradigm; and
• students will equip themselves with knowledge on ways and means of creating
organizational value and leveraging ICTs and knowledge resources as tools for securing
competitive advantages in organizations.
Course Contents of Digital Economy BCIS 8th Semester
Unit 1: Fundamentals of Knowledge Dimensions of Economy
Role of information and knowledge in society and economy, value of Information, Information
and knowledge as factors of production, knowledge and value creation, Concept of knowledge
management, Contemporary practices in information and knowledge management in creating
organizational value
Unit 2: Development of knowledge based societies
Conceptual premise: ICTs and development, Delivery of public information and services through digital means – e-government, e-Business; Policy issues and national policy and regulatory framework, , Infrastructural issues and challenges, The need for Intellectual and cultural shift; Emerging technological trends and their policy ramifications, Media/Digital convergence, Broadband and IP-enabled services, basic concept of telecom regulation and Radio-spectrum management.
Unit 3: Fundamentals of e-Readiness and its Assessment Techniques
Unit 4: Role of Information and Communications Technologies in Economic Development
Economic and Social dimensions of ICTs: ICTs and economic growth interlink ages, ICTs and
Development interlink ages, IT enabled business and service delivery models, BPO/BPM/ITITeS landscape and fundamentals, Positioning Nepal in global sourcing landscape
Unit 5: ICTs and Enterprise Level Value Creation
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Unit 6: Fundamentals of Knowledge Economy
Internet economy, E-business – Conceptual premise and topologies, Leveraging ICTs to build brand awareness and expanding product and services visibility; Components of fully integrated e business models involving Enterprise, Manufacturing, Distribution, Financials, Human Resources, Suppliers, concepts of value proposition, value chain and integrated value chain with examples, ICTs and Supply chain management, Electronic sourcing and procurement, Integrated forecasting, Quality System Management; Electronic Commerce: Customer Service, Interactive marketing, Demand forecasting, Order Management, Developing e-business models,
Unit 7: E-commerce
Topology of e-commerce – B2C, B2B and B2G, Prospects, Issues and challenges, Payment mechanisms, Order fulfillment, Payment gateways, Nepal e-Commerce landscape, issues and challenges
Unit 8: Issues on Developing E-Commerce Based Business Model
Analyzing value proposition, Techno graphic profiling, case studies in e-Commerce/e-Business, Impact of ICTs based implementations on traditional business models on some verticals: travel, entertainment and hospitality industries
Unit 9: Financing
Elements of knowledge industry growth ecosystem, Concept of Venture capital (VC), Angels
Unit 10: Information Economy: Requisite Infrastructure
Regulatory regime, Trust – governance and accountability, Operational issues
Unit 11: Emerging/Evolving Technology Landscape and their Implications on Digital Economy
Concepts of business/competitive intelligence and business analytics, social media, mobile and cloud computing, Data mining and Big Data Analytics, Cyber security and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
Unit 12: Information Economy Landscape: Nepal
IT policy and strategy, Application of ICTs in public and private sector, Level of e-business related activities, prevailing Regulatory instruments, Opportunities/Constraints/ limitations
Unit 13: Internet Access and Infrastructure Related Issues
Telecom policy, Telecom infrastructure, ISP’s, Issues impinging upon ICT penetration and uptake in the country