Civic Competence in Creative Cities: How Digital Innovations Contribute to Durable Democracies
On-site in Tartu 28 July - 7 August, online 12-23 August
The Summer School „Civic Competence in Creative Cities: How Digital Innovations Contribute to Durable Democracies“ will focus on how to use digital innovations in public administrations to unlock and implement civic competence.
The Summer School will consist of an in-person part that takes place in Tartu (28 July - 7 August) and a facultative online part (12 August – 23 August). The Summer School is a unique opportunity for students from around the world to learn about the promises, proliferation, and perils of digital democratic innovations, with a special emphasis on experiences in Estonia, arguably one of the most advanced digital societies in the world. The summer course will focus on learning and reflecting on state-of-the-art academic knowledge on digital democratic innovations, as well as on student research projects on digital innovations in Estonia (particularly in the city of Tartu). The European Capital of Culture 2024 events also allow for ample opportunities for students to experience Estonian culture and acquire skills to present research outcomes in more creative (oral and audiovisual) ways (rather than in the form of a regular academic paper). This Summer Course builds upon experiences we gathered during two successful previous Summer Courses (Building Digital Governance. 2022, and Agile Governance in a Digital Age, 2023).
The online study will take place from August 12 to 23 in the Moodle environment and will consist of three broad thematic blocks - digital representation (electronic elections with an emphasis on Estonia’s experiences with Internet voting) – e-participation (technology-enabled participatory budgeting) and e-deliberation (political participation on electronic platforms, notably social media). The virtual learning will consist of live lectures, video lectures, and independent work with academic resources. Each thematic block will be finalised with a small exam.
The course is supported by the ECePS ERA Chair, that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857622.
| Focus area: | Digital Governance, Public Administration, Politics | Coordinating unit at UT | Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies |
| Study Field: | Politics and Governance in the Digital Age | Course Leader | Prof Vincent Homburg, Professor of e-governance |
| Format | Summer Course | Location | online and in Tartu, Estonia |
| Course dates: | 28 July - 7 August on-site, 12-23 August online | Apply by: | 15 May 2024 |
| ECTS: | 3 (+2 for online part) | Fee: | 700 EUR |
| Study | MA/PhD, advanced BA | Language | English |
Teaching staff
Professor Dr. Vincentius Martinus Franciscus Homburg - full Professor of e- Governance and the holder of the ERAChair of e-governance and digital public services at the Johan Skytte Institute of political studies, University of Tartu
Professor Dr. Joep Crompvoets - full professor Information management in the Public Sector, Public GovernanceInstitute, KU Leuven.
Dr. Mihkel Solvak - Associate professor in technology studies at Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies atUniversity of Tartu
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves - Visiting Professor of Democracy in the Digital Age, Johan Skytte Institute of PoliticalStudies, University of Tartu.
Dr. David Dueñas Cid - Associate Professor at Kozminsky University, Poland.
Dr. Jan Kleiner - Associate professor of Political Science at Masaryk University, the Czech Republic.
Svetlana Bogomolova - Lecturer, Department of media design, Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu, Estonia.
Kertu Vuks - Department of Urban design, head of department, Tartu City.
Junior research fellows in e-Governance, Johan Skytte institute for Political studies, University of Tartu: Art Alishani,Biao He, Logan Emily Carmichael, Bogdan Romanov, Stefan Dedovic
Students from BIP partner universities are nominated by their home universities via the SoleMOVE platform and are exempt from the application fee. Please contact your institute's Erasmus coordinator.
In-person week in Tartu (all times local EEST, with breaks)
Lectures and seminars in Lossi 36-306, coffee breaks/lunch Lossi 36-307
Sunday, 28 July
Arrival
19.00: Opening session of the summer university, meet and greet, ice-breaking - intro to the week
Venue: Restaurant Kolm Tilli, Kastani 42
Monday, 29 July
9.00: Morning coffee served in Lossi 36-307
9.30: Welcome on site - intro to the week - Lossi 36-306
09.45 - 11.00: History and context of digitalisation in Estonia. Prof. Vincent Homburg
11.15 – 12.45: How to make Tartu an even smarter city. Kertu Vuks, Department of Urban design, head ofdepartment, Tartu City.
12.45 - 13.30: Lunch
13.30: Group photo taken in front of Lossi 36 building
13.40: Assisted group work: introduction, preparation of fieldwork. Prof. Vincent Homburg, junior research fellows of the ERA Chair team: Logan Carmichael, Art Alishani, Bogdan Romanov, Biao He.
Evening:
18.00: City of Tartu walk with a guide. Meeting point: Main building of the University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18.
Tuesday, 30 July
9.00 – 10.30: Lecture: Digital Era Governance. Prof. Joep Crompvoets.
10.45 – 12.15: Lecture: Storytelling and how to present findings in creative ways, part I. Svetlana Bogomolova, lecturer, Department of media design, Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu.
12.30 – 13.30: Lunch
13.45 – 14.45: Meetup and talk by President Toomas Henrik Ilves.
Afternoon:
Work on the group assignment – gathering data in the field
16.30: University Main Building tour and guided tour to the University of Tartu Art Museum
Meeting point: Main building of the University of Tartu, Ülikooli 18.
Wednesday, 31 July
09.00 – 10.30: Class on how to analyse qualitative data. Prof. Vincent Homburg
10.45 – 11.45: Talk on Diversity challenges in electronic services delivery. Biao He
11.45 – 12.45: Talk on Digital citizen-state relations. Art Alishani
12.45: Lunch
Afternoon:
Assisted groupwork – work on the group assignment, gathering data in the field
19.00: Workshop in TYPA Centre – Centre for Print and Paper Arts
Venue: Kastani 48f
Thursday, 1 August
9.30 – 10.45: Lecture: Impacts of e-voting in Estonia. Dr. Mihkel Solvak
11.00 – 11.45: Talk on Service security – Estonian example. Logan Carmichael
11.45 – 12.45: Talk on International experiences with e-voting in non-democratic contexts. Bogdan Romanov
12.45: Lunch
Afternoon: Work on group assignment: analysing data from the field
16.00: Guided tour at Estonian National Museum
Venue: Muuseumi tee 2, Tartu.
Friday, 2 August
09.30 – 10.45: Lecture: Class on impact and valorisation of research – Dr. Mihkel Solvak.
11.00 – 12.15: Talk on Digital Service Delivery in Europe. Stefan Dedovic.
12.30: Lunch
13.15 – 14.45: Workshop on Creative ways of storytelling, part II. Svetlana Bogomolova, lecturer, Department ofmedia design, Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Tartu.
Afternoon: Work on group assignment.
16.00: A trip to Maajaam, farm of art and tech situated in the South of Estonia. The visit includes: a lecture on digital art made at Maajaam, guided tour to the exhibition Wild Bits, part of Tartu 2024 main programme, lightdinner. Expected duration: 4.5 hours.
21.00 Onwards: possibility to join the rest of the SU Tartu group to MÖKU bar. Venue: Magasini 5, Tartu.
Saturday, 3 August – free day
Sunday, 4 August – free day
Monday, 5 August
Field trip to Tallinn
8.00 bus departs from Tartu. Meeting point: Lossi 36, Tartu
Presentation on preliminary findings by the student groups on the bus, in the style of elevator pitch
11.00 – 12.30: E-Estonia briefing centre
12.30 – 13.15: Lunch (Mona restaurant, Valukoja 10, Tallinn)
13.15 – 14.30: Andres Raieste, Nortal AS, Senior Vice President
15.00 – 16.00: Sofia Paes, Data policy advisor, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
Followed by a short walk in Tallinn old town. Thereafter - bus departs back to Tartu
Tuesday, 6 August
9.30 - 10.15 Lecture: AI in decision-making and governance. Dr. Jan Kleiner
Class on impact and valorisation of research
10.30 – 12.00 Lecture: Electronic services and trust. Dr. David Duenas-Cid
12.00 – 13.00: Lunch Afternoon: work in teams
16.00: Guided tour to the University of Tartu History Museum. Venue: Lossi 25, Tartu.
Wednesday, 7 August
10.00 – 12.00: Final presentation, evaluation and feedback
Closing session of the in-person week
Introduction to the online part of the course
Venue: Lossi 36-214
12.00 – 13.00: Lunch
18.00: Boat ride with Pegasus on the river Emajõgi
Meeting point: Soola 6, by the river
Thursday, 8 August
Departure
ONLINE PART: 12 - 23 August
1st week (12-16 August)
Digital representation: Internet voting in Estonia
Activities: online live lecture (Monday), three video lectures, study of literature, MC exam (Friday)
Examination: multiple choice exam (P/F) on Moodle
2nd week (19-23 August)
Digital participation: e-budgeting
Activities: Online lecture (Monday), study of literature, MC exam (Friday)
Examination: multiple choice exam (P/F) on Moodle.
Entry requirements:
- Online application form
- Motivation letter (up to 1 page) that demonstrates the applicant’s motivation to participate, his/her expectations about the programme, how participation in the summer programme relates to his/her studies and interests, and how the applicant plans to use the gained experience and knowledge in the future.
- Transcript of academic records
- Copy of passport
PS: Only complete applications including all annexes submitted by the deadline will be considered for selection.
After having completed the Summer Course, participants will be able to:
- explain core concepts and lines of reasoning of Digital Era Govenance and models of digital democracy;
- design and conduct research projects focusing on how citizens (in various roles) experience digital governance and digital democracy;
- report research findings using storytelling and audiovisual techniques.
Students will receive reading materials in the pre-on-site phase of the Summer Course, and their knowledge will be tested by means of an exam (during the on-site part). The exam result will be a part of the overall grade.
NB! There is a separate social programme for this course which will be announced during July the latest.
Two weeks prior to the start of the programme an information file will be sent to all participants. This file contains the daily schedule and relevant contact information of the programme managers.
Students are responsible for their travel, accommodation and travel insurance (visa arrangements if needed) from their home country to Tartu and back to their home country. It is recommended to visit the Tartu Welcome Centre website and arrival and housing section to find accommodation opportunities.
