Joint Master’s Degree GRACE Takes Final Organisational Steps With Applications Open

The Joint Master’s Degree GRACE is nearing its launch. The 4-semester programme will introduce students to Extended Reality (XR) and gamification. Organizers from St. Pölten UAS (Austria), Vidzeme UAS (Latvia), and Saxion UAS (Netherlands) recently took major planning steps in meetings and workshops across Europe.

PLANNING MARATHON KICKED OFF IN AUSTRIA
In September, the GRACE team entered its intense planning phase during a meeting at St. Pölten UAS, centering around the programme design. During this event, future instructors met to design and refine the curriculum and plan the program’s teaching methods. Shortly after, the team took the chance to present GRACE at the Austrian Build.Well.Being conference, giving them the possibility to already connect with possible network partners. Shortly after in October, the team held an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) workshop in Valmiera, Latvia. This workshop covered essential requirements for the program and involved training on digital and non-digital educational tools. During the visit, the group also took some time to connect and grow together, while exploring Valmiera’s historical museum to learn more about practical teaching tools that connect history and technology.

With that, the organisational gatherings were far from over: Already in November, the GRACE team returned to St. Pölten UAS, this time focusing strongly on the upcoming accreditation process for the study programme. This included a pre-visit from the Austrian Quality Assurance Agency (AQA), with many colleagues and student representatives from partner institutions in attendance.

With the final steps of the accreditation underway, GRACE aims to be welcoming students in Autumn 2025. The application portal for interested individuals is open until February 1, 2025.