Respect for Ethical Standards and Rules of Integrity

Respect for Norms and Rules of Ethics and Integrity

Semester: 2
Teaching Unit: UET 1.2
Subject: Respect for Norms and Rules of Ethics and Integrity
Total Contact Hours (VHS): 22h30 (Lecture: 1h30)
Credits: 1
Coefficient: 1


Course Objectives

The primary aim of this course is to develop students’ awareness, understanding, and commitment to the ethical principles and rules governing academic life and professional practice. More specifically, the course seeks to:

  • Raise students’ awareness of the respect for and valorization of intellectual property;

  • Explain the risks associated with ethical misconduct, including moral vices such as corruption, and present methods for preventing and combating such practices;

  • Sensitize students to the ethical challenges posed by new technologies and sustainable development, particularly in scientific and engineering contexts.


Prerequisite Knowledge

  • Ethics and Professional Conduct (Foundations)


Course Content

Chapter 1: Respect for Rules of Ethics and Integrity

  1. Review of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS) Charter on Ethics and Professional Conduct

    • Integrity and honesty

    • Academic freedom

    • Mutual respect

    • Commitment to scientific truth, objectivity, and critical thinking

    • Equity

    • Rights and obligations of students, faculty members, and administrative/technical staff

  2. Responsible and Ethical Research

    • Respect for ethical principles in teaching and research

    • Responsibilities in teamwork:

      • Professional equality of treatment

      • Conduct against discrimination

      • Pursuit of the general interest

      • Inappropriate conduct in collective work

    • Adopting responsible conduct and combating misconduct:

      • Responsible conduct in research

      • Scientific fraud and actions against fraud

      • Plagiarism: definition, forms, prevention of unintentional plagiarism, detection tools, and sanctions

      • Data falsification and fabrication

  3. Ethics and Professional Conduct in the World of Work

    • Legal confidentiality in business

    • Loyalty to the company

    • Professional responsibility within the organization

    • Conflicts of interest

    • Integrity and corruption in the workplace:

      • Forms of corruption

      • Consequences

      • Methods of prevention and control

      • Sanctions against corruption


Chapter 2: Intellectual Property

I. Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

  1. Industrial property

  2. Literary and artistic property

  3. Rules for citing references (books, scientific articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, etc.)

II. Copyright

  1. Copyright in the digital environment:

    • Introduction

    • Copyright protection of databases and software

    • Specific case of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS)

  2. Copyright on the Internet and in electronic commerce:

    • Domain name law

    • Intellectual property on the Internet

    • E-commerce website law

    • Intellectual property and social networks

  3. Patents

    • Definition

    • Rights conferred by a patent

    • Utility and strategic value of patents

    • Patentability criteria

    • Patent application procedures in Algeria and worldwide

III. Protection and Valorization of Intellectual Property

  • Methods for protecting intellectual property

  • Infringement of rights and legal remedies

  • Valorization of intellectual property

  • Intellectual property protection framework in Algeria


Chapter 3: Ethics, Sustainable Development, and New Technologies

  • Relationship between ethics and sustainable development

  • Energy conservation and efficiency

  • Bioethics and emerging technologies:

    • Artificial intelligence

    • Scientific and technological progress

    • Humanoid robots and robotics

    • Drones and autonomous systems