Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences Continues Work on Approbation of Master's Study Programmes and Boosting International Competitiveness
In order to approbate and promote Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA) master's study programmes in English in study fields important for society, as well as to promote ViA strategic specialization and attraction of foreign students, the programmes are being accredited, cooperation is being established, the content of the study programmes and courses are being improved.
In 2021, the university is working on the accreditation process of two master's study programmes – “Media and Information Literacy”, and “Strategic Communication and Governance”, at the same time preparing for the defence of final theses and continuing to improve the knowledge of current students.
In order to promote international cooperation in the study programme "Cybersecurity Engineering", negotiations have been started with partners in Austria and Estonia – a lecture "Informative warfare" is planned within the framework of the cooperation in the spring semester. At the same time, the work on the audit of the study programme is in progress in order to adapt it to the requirements of the labour market and the topicalities of the industry.
In addition, in the autumn semester of 2020, discussions were held with employers and representatives of the industry with regard to the study programme “Virtual Reality and Smart Technologies” in order to understand future potential cooperation opportunities. In the spring semester of 2021, the work started on the approbation of the programme and the evaluation of the content of lectures will be continued. In cooperation with industry representatives, improvements to the qualitative aspects of the study programme will be implemented.
Until now, four master's study programmes have already been developed and successfully launched within the project - "Media and Information Literacy", "Virtual Reality and Smart Technologies", "Cybersecurity Engineering", "Strategic Communication and Governance", and work is currently in progress on the preparation of licensing documents for the international double degree study programme "Tourism Competitiveness Management". The programme will be launched in February 2022 in cooperation with Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Finland. The content of the programme is designed to provide students with knowledge on how to better manage tourism organizations and destinations in the new conditions in the tourism industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project will continue until November 2023.
Since 2018, ViA has been implementing three new Master's degree programmes in English, which have been developed as part of the project "Development and Approbation of New Master's Programs for the Promotion of International Competitiveness of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences" (No.8.2.1.0 /18/A/011.) In total, five Master's degree programmes in English will be developed: "Media and Information Literacy", "Virtual Reality and Smart Technologies", "Cyber Security Engineering", "Strategic Communication and Governance" and a tourism study programme in cooperation with Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Finland.