On February 14, 2023, the D2S@Ulysseus project organised a Forum on Digital Soft Skills at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School in Innsbruck, Austria.
The “multiplier” event was a collaborative initiative of the six partner universities of Ulysseus and project members. It allowed the public to learn about the results of the D2S project, which aims to modernise education and improve the digital skills of learners and educators.
The D2S Forum also addressed the social, emotional, and interpersonal effects of technology use. It focused on how to use technology meaningfully, its impact on identity, well-being, and social interaction, and how to use it to create lasting impact.
Organised in partnership with EdTech Austria and Green Event Tirol, the Forum offered a day of activities around Digital Soft Skills with the participation of experts, a panel discussion, and interactive workshops.
The keynote speaker for the event, Giorgia Epicoco, Senior EU Public Affairs Manager at Huawei, discussed the digital skills deficit in the EU and the challenges it poses.
The fifty academic, student, and entrepreneurial international participants had the opportunity to exchange with the discussion panel members on the digital and green transition in education and inclusive development of skills, including:
- Dietmar Killian, Founding Partner PDAgroup and MCI Professor for Digitalization
- Claudia Mössenlechner, Head MCI Learning Solutions, Deputy Head Academic Council, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School
- Julia Pichler, Project Lead EdTech Austria
- Nicolas Soehlemann, Alumnus MCI | The Entrepreneurial School
- Natalia Timus, Head of Academic Development and Researcher, University of Cote d’Azur
- Regina Obexer, University lecturer and Head of the Center for Responsible Management & Social Impact, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School
Participants also took part in workshops on topics such as virtual reality in language classes, the use of personal response systems for active learning, digital inclusion, and a deep dive into D2S. These workshops were organised by the D2S@Ulysseus team, including:
- Djibril Dieng, Jonathan Reyes Marimon & Vivien Lake, Université Cote d’Azur
- Fabrizio Bracco, Michele Masini & Tommaso Francesco Piccinno, Universitá di Genova
- Magdalena Posch, Susann Kruschel & Arno Rottensteiner, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School
The D2S@Ulysseus team presented the Digital Soft Skills and the results of the European project: courses for students, educators, and those interested in Digital Soft Skills, didactic and accompanying guides to Digital Soft Skills, tools to create open badges, and surveys on digital needs.
- Introduction to D2S project – Marion Polack, Ulysseus Project Assistant, Université Cote d’Azur
- What are the Digital Soft Skills – František Janke, Researcher at Technical University of Košice
- D2S framework – Michaela Preuner, Instructional Designer @ MCI Innsbruck
- Structure of D2S the courses & Open badges, Marianna Sinicakova, Professor at Technical University of Kosice
The event concluded with a meeting of the project partners, which also served as a finalisation meeting for the D2S project. It was an opportunity for the transnational team to meet and plan for the project’s sustainability, with an offer of continuously updated D2S courses and the development of future collaborations and events on Digital Soft Skills.
The project aims to disseminate its results and resources to the public, making them available online to anyone interested in improving their Digital Soft Skills. Find them on the D2S website to develop your skills!
About D2S@Ulysseus
D2S@Ulysseus is a project led by Ulysseus European University partners, coordinated by Université Côte d’Azur in France, University of Seville in Spain, University of Genoa in Italy, Technical University of Košice in Slovakia, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® in Austria, and Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, DigitalSoftSkills@Ulysseus aims at adapting to the digital age and developing Digital Soft Skills for students and educators.
