By Klaus Greve True & Martin Storkholm Nielsen, VIA University College
Contributors: Anne Louise Bang, Aron Grigoleit, Pia Hansen, Malene Pilgaard Harsaae, Tine Hjort, Katrin Meinert Ibsen, Nikolaj Sloth Kramer, René Claus Larsen, Hanne Thaarup Mølbak, Martin Storkholm Nielsen, Klaus Greve True.
INTRODUCTION
In the spring of 2025, VIA University College hosted a group of workshops on Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology focusing on Near Field Communication (NFC) (AIM North America, n.d.). This event, part of the CRAFT-IT4SD research project under the Horizon Europe research programme, targeted students and professionals from design and business fields to explore NFC’s value creation potential. Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of NFC technology through a hands-on approach, allowing them to experiment with multiple NFC tags and devices.
This interactive setting encouraged creative thinking and collaboration, highlighting how NFC can be integrated into various projects and businesses. The aim of the workshops was to provide valuable knowledge, inspiration and the opportunity of practical experimentation with NFC-technology to all attendees, empowering them to define and put future experimentation on value creation potentials into action.
THE WHY
We believe it is crucial to equip students and professionals with the skills and knowledge to imagine how digital technologies can be used and combined to create value for both businesses and society (Rosenstand & Baiyere, 2019). This initiative aims to partly narrow the gap in digital literacy and partly make this gap more conducive to innovation among practitioners in the design and business fields (Selvadurai et al., 2019).
By introducing participants to NFC technology, we aimed to provide them with practical experience and insights into its potential applications. NFC technology can revolutionize various industries by streamlining processes, enhancing user experiences, and creating new business opportunities. For example, in design, NFC can be used to develop interactive products that engage users in innovative ways. In business, NFC can improve supply chain management, enhance customer interactions, and provide valuable data insights.
The hands-on approach of the workshops encouraged creativity and collaboration, allowing participants to experiment with NFC tags and devices. This practical experience is invaluable as it helps attendees understand the technology’s potential and think critically about its applications. Ultimately, the workshops aimed to inspire participants to leverage NFC technology to drive innovation, solve relevant challenges, and create value in their respective fields.
THE HOW
To effectively introduce NFC technology to students, we organized two workshops specifically tailored to the meet their needs, abilities and prerequisites for participation. Recognizing that students initially had a low degree of knowledge and practical experience with NFC, we structured the workshops to first establish a solid foundation. It was crucial to engage the students from the start to prevent loss of interest.
We began by providing an overview of NFC technology, its applications, and potential benefits. To make the learning process engaging, we incorporated a hands-on approach. Students were asked to download an app-based NFC tool and use the NFC reader on their smartphones. This practical activity allowed them to interact directly with the technology, making the learning experience more tangible and relatable.
The workshops were carefully planned to gradually increase the level of engagement. Initially, students performed simple tasks using NFC tags, such as reading and writing data. As their confidence and understanding grew, we introduced more complex activities that required creative thinking and problem-solving. This step-by-step approach aimed to ensure that students remained actively involved and motivated throughout the sessions.
For the business-focused workshop, we designed a one-off event that prioritized participant involvement in defining relevant problems and potentials within their daily operations. This approach ensured that the workshop was not only educational but also highly practical and tailored to their specific needs.
We began by introducing them to knowledge and use cases on the application of NCF technology and subsequently inviting participants to share challenges and opportunities they faced in their businesses. This collaborative discussion helped us and participants identify key areas where NFC technology could be applied.
We then structured the workshop to provide targeted consultations, guiding participants on how to start using and implementing NFC technology in ways that would create value for their businesses. By focusing on real-world applications and value creation, we aimed to ensure that the workshop was both informative and immediately beneficial to the participants.
THE WHAT
Overall, we experienced that the workshops helped in building knowledge that can be implemented by both groups of participants to create value within their domains. However, during the facilitation of the workshops, it became evident that the participants’ knowledge of NFC technology and their practical experience with its applications varied significantly.
Furthermore, there can be a bias in the perception of digital technology, as being extremely complex and not within the domain of participants. This can act as a barrier in the development and understanding of relevance, that hinders active participation. This disparity meant that the novelty and relevance of the topic and technology only partially supported focus, engagement, and commitment to the activity. Consequently, we recognized the need to consider the participants’ varying levels of knowledge and ability to participate.
REFLECTION/CONCLUSION
To maintain a high level of engagement and sense of relevance in future workshops, we must take into mind how we can diversify activities, ensuring that all participants could remain actively involved and benefit from the experience. We are suggesting that adding didactic tools focusing on generative ways of working collaboratively and creative, e.g. visualizations, building artifacts, using elements of games and play can help decrease complexity and promote the sense of relevance and tangibility, thus aiding engagement and actively participation, potentially leading to the increased learning.
REFERENCES
AIM North America. (n.d.). AIDC Technologies. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from https://www.aim-na.org/aidc-technology.html
Rosenstand, C. A. F., & Baiyere, A. (2019). Digital “x”: Beyond Bounded Rationality, Toward a Theory of Bounded Imagination. www.ispim.org
Selvadurai, V., Vistisen, P., & Rosenstand, C. A. F. (2019). Fruitful Gaps in Digital Literacy: Interpreting gaps in digital literacy among stakeholders in collaborative design research projects as an evolving innovative capacity. Design Journal, 22(sup1), 2045–2059. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2019.1594928