Hybrid Meeting Marks Milestone in Joint Master’s Programme on Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship

Universität Innsbruck, in cooperation with Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II (Italy) and Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic) and representatives of the Université Paris-Est Créteil (France), successfully convened a hybrid working meeting to launch the hybrid Joint Master Degree Programme entitled “Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship” (DIGISOC). This innovative joint programme aims to address the pressing challenges, but also the opportunities, of increasing digitalisation through a collective effort. 42 colleagues from all involved universities and participating organisations took part in this intensive working session, either on-site or online. During the meeting, the Vice Rector for Teaching and Student Affairs at Universität Innsbruck, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Janette Walde, emphasised the need for a unified curriculum that effectively combines the diverse offerings of the three degree-awarding universities and for optional practical phases involving companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Aligning University Structures Into A Cohesive Programme

The complexity of aligning three different university structures into a cohesive programme was acknowledged as a significant challenge, but the commitment of the staff involved paved the way for future collaboration, moderated by the responsible Dean of Studies assoz. Prof. Mag. Dr. Nikolaus Umlauf and Christina Raab. Key issues discussed included the development of scholarship opportunities, student enrollment processes, and key elements for the successful implementation of the Joint Master’s Programme. The selection process will be coordinated by Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II. It was also agreed that each university will publish information about the Joint Master Programme and a call for scholarships, specifying the criteria and stipends, so that eligible students can apply. The aim of this initiative is to increase accessibility and to attract a wide range of students from different fields of study. Participants also discussed in detail the creation of a comprehensive website to promote the Joint Master’s Programme. The proposed website will serve as a landing page with key information, including the application process. It is planned that the website will be ready for public access by the end of March 2025. In the meantime, the institutional information pages of the three degree-awarding universities will provide information and, of course, link to this page in the near future.

Launching of the Joint Master’s Programme

Looking ahead, the launch date for the Joint Master’s Programme is set for October 1, 2025. The universities expressed their collective commitment to address remaining challenges and completing the necessary accreditation and administrative processes in preparation for this date. The next steps will involve continued faculty and administrative collaboration, with a follow-up meeting scheduled to review progress and finalise outstanding issues. The Joint Master Degree Programme “Digital Society, Social Innovation, and Global Citizenship” aims to prepare students to become leaders capable of managing global citizenship in a digital society while fostering social innovation; at the same time, it is a demonstration of the added value and feasibility of international cooperation in higher education. DIGISOC originates from the Aurora Educational Hub “Digital Society & Global Citizenship”, which has facilitated the development of this two-year European Joint Master Degree Program (120 ECTS credits). Due to the ambitious and resource-intensive nature of this initiative, an additional project proposal, EURIDICE, has been submitted to the EU call DIGITAL-2022-SKILLS-03. DIGISOC has now been realised based on this call.