European Master in Media Engineering for Education. – (M.Sc.)

Contents

Preparatory stage Upon selection confirmed by the European commission, the students engage in a distance preparatory process (in the event of withdrawal from the students, the same distance training service will be open to the students on the waiting list This stage is dedicated to language learning, computer literacy, and of basic theoretical knowledge necessary in the field of educational technologies.

Foundation course (4 months, from April at July) - managed by the University of Poitiers.

· Languages: remedial activities are suggested in accordance with the scores of the placement test carried out during the selection (Dialang1). For students with a level lower or equal to French C1, the training will concern exclusively French. For the others students, it will concern the language in which they obtained the lowest score. (Spanish or Portuguese). Teaching is proposed on line and resorts to various operators specialized in the teaching of French, Spanish or Portuguese. A placement test will be held at the end of the training period.

· Technology: activities are suggested in accordance with the results obtained in the C2i placement test carried out at the time of the application. They rely on a catalogue of self-training activities and will be followed by a final placement test.

· Educational technologies: a folder presents, through a selection of articles, the scientific orientations suitable for each of the three European teams. The articles can be in French, Spanish, Portuguese or English. A simple work of critical reading, guided by questions, must be carried out. In addition, the students are invited to give, in one of the four languages a synthetic presentation of the situation of educational technologies in their country, from their own point of view. This analysis will be kept in the virtual office of the Master and presented and discussed for the opening of the program, in September, in Poitiers.

1 - First yearStage 1: European summer university (1 week, mid-September), in Poitiers.

All the students (M1 and m2) are expected to attend it. It includes five steps:

· assistance in settling in a technical meeting of reception and organization with all the students and all the coordinators;

· attendance of first-year students to oral defences of second year students;

· attendance to a summer session (European Summer University), also open to other European and international students of master , doctorate or post-doctorate level. The Summer school deals with a different topic every year which concerns issues of the interactions between the digital cultures of the young and educational cultures.

· the official ceremony of opening of the academic year of the master by the president of the University of Poitiers and the representatives of its counterparts from the other universities of the consortium;

· on this occasion, the students sign, with the consortium, the Euromime study Chart, based on a Student Handbook available in the three languages, which defines the rights and duties of the students and the consortium.

Stage 2: Course of six-month period 1 (3 months, from October at December), in Poitiers.

All the students of M1 gather in Poitiers. The majority of the courses are given by the French sraff with on campus or distance courses by the other staffs of the consortium and invited academics. The course is organized in two distinct periods.

From October to December, the students take part in five intensive courses which directly continue the preparatory period

* Language classes are given in the three languages of the consortium at a rate of six hours per week and language. The objective is to reach a minimal level of B2 in the three languages after completing these courses in order to be able to study in a trilingual environment. Exemptions can be granted to the students according to their command of the languages;

* A multi disciplinary course in computer science, video and multi-media technology gives the students the necessary knowledge to be able to interact with specialists and to make technological choices. This course combines both theory and practical work. It is given in French while resorting to English if necessary;

* A set of courses and practical work trains the students in the development and implementation of educational and training programs resorting to computer mediated environments. These courses are based both on theoretical teaching and case studies. They are given in the 3 languages of the consortium, on campus for French and partially on line for the two other languages.

January is dedicated to the first part of a TER ( research and study work). The students must meet the requirements of one of our industrial partners. The month is devoted to tasks ranging from analyzing the requirements to handing-over a book of detailed specifications. The students are in charge of the whole project with the help of the staff from Poitiers and to a lesser extent from Lisbon to ensure a transition with the second part of the TER which will be carried out in Lisbon.

At the beginning of October, a two hour research seminar is organized every week. It relies on the use of a Web conference platform which makes it available to students and lecturers wherever they are. The schedule of this seminar is designed by the IRMA research team and includes 20 annual sessions.

The researchers in educational technologies from the seven universities of the consortium as well as other researchers in the field present their work. As far as possible, the seminar is open to the former students of the Master. All the sessions of the seminar are recorded and can be viewed on line.

Stage 3: SEMIME (1 week, at the end of January), in Lisbon.

All the students from 1st and 2nd year meet in Lisbon to take part in the research seminar on the digital gap organized by the UTL (international research seminar with reading committee). Second year students are invited to take part in the call for communications. This meeting is also the opportunity for a regulation session with all the members of the steering committee of the consortium.

Stage 4: second semester course 2 (3 months, from February to April), in Lisbon.

The six-month period of studies in Lisbon focuses on two objectives: training in research and continuation of the training of the students in project management for the development of educational resources. Research training consists in theoretical and methodological contributions brought mostly by the team of the UTL (Curriculum Theory and evaluation, Analysis of educational systems, research on education) with complements brought by the UNED (media training and learning styles) and by the UP (Digital cultures versus educational Cultures). Project management is carried on through the completion of the project initiated in the first semester. Members of the French staff will supervise the work to ensure the transition between the two parts of the project.

Students participate in the weekly research seminar throughout the semester and start developing their own project of Master´s thesis.

Language courses are offered throughout the semester, at a rate of two hours per week and per language.

Stage 5: Industrial training course (2 months, from May to June), in Poitiers.

The industrial training course is a training course in professional context carried out within a private company or of a public corporation. The training course is defined by the professional setting but mostly by the mission entrusted to the student, for the benefit of the student´s training and the activity of the host company. The standard mission entrusted to the students is the management of a small scale project or assistance in project management under the supervision of a senior project manager. The industrial training courses take place in Europe, preferably in one of the three countries of the consortium. Students start looking for industrial training courses as soon as they arrive in Europe. They have access to a database designed by the former students of the three masters (several hundreds), they benefit from the assistance of the network of the former students of the three national masters, they have access to the database of the industrial partners of the consortium together with the offers of industrial training courses which reach us every year in numbers superior to the number of our students.

During the industrial training course a continuous follow-up is carried out by means of the portfolio that each student must implement every week both to think over his own training , and to facilitate communication with the tutors and the other students and to have the elements which will be taken into account for evaluation. An evaluation is also requested from the tutors by means of a reference frame of competencies and behaviour. It aims at evaluating the student and at informing the consortium on the evolution of what sort of competencies employers should expect from their juniors project managers.

Stage 6: Preparation of the projects of Master´s thesis (1 week, at the end of June), in Madrid.

The week of preparation of the projects of Master´s thesis marks the end of a preparation period initiated at the very beginning of the first semester and nourished by the courses relating to research given in Lisbon and by confronting with real professional situations. Unless otherwise agreed, the subjects of the thesis must be relevant to the fields of research of the universities of the consortium.

The week consists in presenting and discussing the projects and tutored work to lead the students to write of abstract which must be accepted by the end of the week. As far as possible, representatives of the seven universities of the consortium participate in this week. By the end of the week students will know their thesis advisors and agree with them on where they will continue their studies.

Stage 7: Congress of the UNED (1 week, at the beginning of July), in Madrid.

Students take part in the congress of the UNED on educational technology and knowledge management. This international congress presents the invaluable characteristic for the Euromime Master to welcome a very large number of participants from the majority of the countries in Latin America.

Stage 8: Industrial or research internship (2 months and a half, from July to September), in Poitiers.

This summer course is optional for international students. It is compulsory for European students. For the latter, it consists in a 2 and a half month study stay, research period or professional placement period in one of the 4 partner universities or in one of their own partner universities. Each stay is subjected to an agreement which meets the requirements of a chart which specifies the terms of reception and employment of the students. The stays are selected in the first or second semester by means of a catalogue established by the consortium and updated annually.

International students can also carry out a training course during the European summer, either in a European setting, preferably in continuation of the industrial training course, or in Latin America under the same conditions as European students.

2 - Second year Stage 9: European summer university (1 week, mid-September), in Poitiers.

The summer week is organized in the same way as the first year (official opening of the Master course, oral defence of the theses by second year students and European Summer University). Students are asked to make communications in relationship with their research work and the subject of the Summer University

Stage 10: Course of six-month period 3 (4 months, from October at January), in Madrid.

The six-month period of studies at the UNED focuses on competencies in educational project management and in innovation in teaching. Management is approached both to give the students the tools and methods to implement project management and to enable them to position themselves as project managers upon completion of the Master. Management is taught in relationship with its related fields (Law, management, communication).

Innovation in teaching is taught from a theoretical point of view (already approached in first year), by the study of systems or very recent tools (school robotics, interactive white boards, Web 2.0) and from a more prospective point of view (didactic strategies for the 21st century).

Additional training is also given, by the Portuguese staff (cognitive ergonomics) and by the French staff (digital culture).

All the students take part in the weekly research seminar

The courses in Madrid (either on campus or online) combine lectures, courses and practical work. This organization, which enhances the knowhow of the UNED, provides the students with invaluable experience in distance education.

The last language courses are given at a rate of two hours per week. They are followed by tests to evaluate the level of competence reached in the three languages of the consortium.

Stage 11: SEMIME (1 week, at the end of January), in Lisbon.

All the students of the master take part in the research seminar on the digital gap. The students whose research topic and progress in their work allow can subject a communication.

Stage 12: Research period, semester 4 (5 months, from February to June), in Poitiers.

The students join the support laboratory of the Master in the European (or possibly Latin-American) university where their thesis advisors work. They work within these teams to complete their master´s thesis. At the end of this period, the thesis advisors inform the consortium on the quality and the state of progress of the work of the students.

Stage 13: Congress of the UNED (1 week, at the beginning of June), in Madrid.

All the students in the master attend the congress of the UNED. The students whose research topic and state of progress of their work allow it can subject a communication.

Stage 14: continuation of research period - (2months and a half, from July to September), in Poitiers.

depending on the state of progress of their work, students finish writing their thesis and prepare to defend it. Completed theses are submitted to the examining board on August 15th at the latest.

Stage 15: European Summer University (1 week, mid-September), in Poitiers.

The last stay in Poitiers begins with oral defence of the theses. The examining board is composed of four members: a representative of each of the three European universities which award the joint diploma (or the three diplomas in the event of a failure of the procedure of development of a joint diploma) and a representative of the Latin American universities. It continues with attendance to the European Summer University and is completed by an official ceremony of closure in which the President of the University of Poitiers and representatives of his counterparts of the other universities of the consortium solemnly award the students a certificate demonstrating proof of completion of the Master´s studies (the final diplomas are sent to the students by mail later on due to administrative procedures required for the publication of this type of documents).