Robotic and Autonomous Systems Safety (RASS)

Introduction

In this course, we will address the safety of Autonomous Systems (AS) employing Artificial Intelligence (AI). The course covers systems engineering and safety assurance for AS, including the use and assurance of AI for autonomy, decision support and to support the safety assurance process. The course also considers socio-technical issues around responsibility, human factors and human-autonomy teaming, and considers the development of an ethics case for AS projects. We will discuss state of the art guidance on regulation and risk acceptance, and provide a framework for creating an appropriate AS safety case.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

Identify and describe the disruptors - technical, engineering and social - to existing system safety engineering practices generated by autonomous systems.
Describe and evaluate the implications for and changes required in safety assessment and assurance practices to accommodate autonomous systems and associated emerging technologies.
Consistently and clearly communicate concepts and issues relating to autonomous systems engineering and safety.
Identify the societal and regulatory impact of autonomous systems and implications for risk acceptance in a range of safety-critical domains.
Demonstrate how to provide a compelling safety case for autonomous systems.

Course booking

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Indicative course content

This course will cover a range of topics including:

Autonomy Opportunities and Assurance Challenges
Elements of Autonomy and mitigation of AS hazards
Guidance for developing an AS safety case
Basics of offline Supervised and Reinforcement Learning
Assuring the contribution of AI to autonomy, decision support and supporting safety analysis
Legal, social and ethical issues
Human factors and Human-AI teaming
Post deployment assurance

How will this course be taught?

This course is taught in a blended format. Course teaching will consist of three days of face-to-face sessions on campus, taking place from Tuesday to Thursday of the teaching week at the University of York. The on-campus teaching will include lectures as well as extensive group exercises where you will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned through case studies. Students will also be provided with self-study materials totalling up to 15 hours of study time. These materials will comprise of work to be completed before the on-campus sessions in York, and materials to be studied afterwards.

Following the taught element, students have an opportunity to complete an assessment. The assessment is completed remotely, and is expected to take around 65 hours to complete including additional reading. The assessment for this course comprises coursework. The assessment is compulsory for students who require the module to be credited towards a degree award.

When will this course be taught?

The key dates for this course in the 2025/26 academic year are as follows:

Registration closes: Friday 03/04/2026

Preparatory materials released: Friday 17/04/2026

Face-to-face teaching: Tuesday 28/04/2026 - Thursday 30/04/2026

Booking conditions

Booking Conditions

Acceptance onto a short course is at the agreement of the course leader. They will want to assure themselves that you have the relevant level of background knowledge. You may therefore be asked to provide a CV detailing your knowledge / experience in particular areas.
Course fees quoted include all relevant course materials, tuition and examinations, lunch and refreshments.
A completed booking form with Purchase Order or payment is required no later than one month before the course starts, or immediately for bookings made within one month of the beginning of the course.
Fees are payable to The University of York.
Payment can also be made by credit or debit card.

Cancellations

We regret that a fee must be charged when confirmed bookings are cancelled or transferred to future dates. In the event of a cancellation, you may nominate a substitute
(acceptance of this substitution is subject to academic and availability conditions). If a suitable substitute cannot be found the following scale of charges will apply:

56 days or more before the programme starts ‐ full refund
55 days or less ‐ 50% refund
28 days or less ‐ 25% refund
14 days or less ‐ no refund

Transfers to a postgraduate award

Students who attend any short course(s), and subsequently choose to undertake a full MSc, Diploma or Certificate will be entitled to some credit of the fees already paid, which can be used towards the cost of the full award. The credit a student is entitled to is calculated as follows:

Module	Credit % of the fees already paid
1st module	85%
2nd module	75%
3rd module	70%
4th module	70%

You should apply for your chosen postgraduate award after taking no more than 40 credits of modules. All components, including modules taken as SCSE short courses, must be taken within a five year time period.

We reserve the right to amend published information.

Book your place

Please complete the Short Course Booking Form.

If your employer will be paying for your training and you would like us to raise an invoice, please complete the Short Course Payment Form.

To pay online by card payment please complete the Short Course Payment Form and make a payment online.

If you have any questions please contact cs-safety-courses@york.ac.uk.

Postgraduate awards

You can attend this module as a short course on a stand-alone basis. This module also forms part of the following postgraduate courses:

If you successfully complete the course and assessment your results can count towards the completion of the Masters, Diploma or Certificate award. To use the course towards a postgraduate award in this way, you must complete the assessment at the same time as you take the module (you will not be able to take the assessment at any other time). All components of your chosen postgraduate award, including modules taken as short courses, must be completed within a five year time period.

Contact us

MSc SCSE and Short Courses Team

cs-safety-courses @york.ac.uk