Graduate Certificate in Emerging Technologies and Law

This course examines the emergence of new technologies and business models over the past decade and the impact that they have had on society, ethics, law, regulation and policy. You will dissect the pressures emerging technologies place on current regulatory approaches and frameworks. Traditional approaches to regulation and policy development and key examples of current regulation will be examined. You will study a range of theories and approaches to developing fit-for-purpose regulation, and be equipped with the skills and knowledge to develop policy and regulation that can keep pace with technological change. 

Learning outcomes

• Analyse and discuss the ethical, social and legal issues arising from the rapid uptake of emerging technologies
• Critically examine the legal, ethical, societal and privacy concerns arising from the gap between current legal and regulatory frameworks and the capabilities of emerging technologies.
• Evaluate and discuss the current approaches to adapting laws, policies, and regulations to meet the challenges presented by emerging technology
• Formulate logical, adaptable and sustainable policies and legal frameworks for adopting and managing emerging technologies

In this course, you will develop an advanced understanding of the key principles of Australian and international privacy laws. You will comprehend the value of personal and commercial data in an increasingly connected world and examine the obligations of organisations in relation to the collection, storage and use of customer data.

You’ll critically examine the legal, security and privacy issues that arise from the collection, storage and usage of such data and examine the response required from organisations in the event of a data breach. The ethical, social and regulatory implications of key privacy and data topics will be examined, while technology solutions for greater transparency, privacy and security will be explored.

Learning outcomes

• Examine the value of personal data to emerging technologies and the ways personal data is constrained and protected by Australian and International law.
• Analyse and explain the business and organisational responsibilities for the collection, access, sharing and storage of personal data under Australian and International privacy laws and regulations.
• Critically examine the ways data collection, storage, sharing and access of emerging technologies outpaces current laws and regulations.
• Develop ethical and sustainable legal frameworks and policies to manage the access, sharing and storage of data under Australian and key international privacy laws and regulations.
• Recommend emerging technology solutions to improve the privacy and transparency of data use, sharing and storage.

In this course, you will apply creative, strategic and customer-centric theories and approaches to formulate innovative solutions to legal and business/organisational problems. You will recognise the opportunities and limitations of emerging technologies and advocate their use in specific situations to improve functionality, quality and efficiency for clients and stakeholders.
You will adopt an innovation mindset and undertake the process of customer discovery to uncover the challenges that clients and stakeholders of legal services commonly face, and identify emerging technology solutions that address these needs. The preparation of a recommendation report will advise senior management and stakeholders of the benefits, costs and risks associated with the proposed technology solution while outlining the required delivery and implementation process.

Learning outcomes

• Evaluate legal business or organisational functions to identify innovative opportunities for emerging technologies to improve productivity and functionality.
• Design innovative and ethical emerging technology solutions for legal business and organisations by using human-centred design approaches and tools.
• Formulate technological solutions and associated policies to enhance organisational processes or client services that effectively balance risk, costs, and benefits.

This program's elective bundle contains  up-to-the-minute, industry led-modules that focus on emerging capability areas for legal practitioners. You can choose one of the following RMIT Online short courses to add to your learning experience. You will choose from:

For more information about these individual elective bundles, please refer to the program brochure.