ENGAGE.EU Summer School 2022
Topic: Digitalization and Challenges for European Society
Date: 12 July (online), 18-29 July (on campus)
Location: Luiss University, Rome, Italy
Application deadline: 15 April 2022
Administration fee: €100
ECTS: 4
About the ENGAGE.EU Summer School
The ENGAGE.EU Summer School is an intensive, two-week summer program taught by professors and lecturers from leading European universities in business, economics, and the social sciences. The program aims to provide a forum for interdisciplinary academic exchange and learning, preparing students with hard and soft skills they can use as they pursue graduate studies and future careers. The theme of this year’s summer school, Digitalization and Challenges for European Society, offers students a deep dive into the varied economic, social, political and regulatory aspects of the digital revolution with a specific focus on Europe. This year, the summer school will be hosted at Luiss University in Rome, and in addition to the coursework, participants will have the opportunity to take in the historic beauty of the “eternal city” through several organized social/cultural excursions. The summer school is partially funded by the ENGAGE.EU alliance, so the €100 administration fee includes accommodation in one of our university residence halls, morning and afternoon meals during the week, and transportation to and from organized extracurricular activities.
Digitalization and Challenges for European Society
With the sweeping changes brought about by the rapid expansion of digital computing and communication technologies since the tail end of the 20th century, we are in the midst of a technological revolution that will fundamentally change the way we live, work, do business and govern our societies. This transformation, sometimes referred to as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ is sure be unlike anything that came before it in terms of scope, magnitude and complexity. Along with the many benefits to society that digitalization may offer come a host of potential risks and challenges, so that the possibility of a more equitable, green and transparent digital society is as real as the possibility of a digital dystopia.
Although we can’t know what the ramifications of the digital revolution will be, or how the future will take shape, any attempt to control, regulate and overcome the challenges which emerge must be integrated and comprehensive, involving as broad range of stakeholders as possible from both public and private sectors at national, regional and international levels.
The aim of the summer school “Digitalization and Challenges for European Society” is to offer students a deep dive into the varied economic, social, political and regulatory aspects of the digital revolution with a specific focus on Europe. To this end we will offer four courses (comprised of five meetings each) and several standalone lectures, around the core theme of digitalization as it intersects key topics in business, law and politics.
Learning Outcomes
Students of the ENGAGE.EU summer school will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and acquire new skills related to cutting-edge topics that should complement their primary paths of study. At the end of the course students will be able to:
- Grasp important theoretical concepts related to digitalization and apply them to practical case examples
- Understand the opportunities created by new technologies for businesses and government agencies, both from an academic and a practical point of view
- Understand the challenges posed by digital technologies, including issues of privacy, surveillance and the “digital divide”
- Gain a working knowledge of empirical techniques used for effectively searching, locating, extracting, and preparing relevant data for analysis – skills considered as essential in the framework of digitalization of contemporary professions
Courses
The summer school will begin with an introductory workshop online, followed by two weeks of onsite learning, where students will follow four individual week-long courses (two each week). Students will be evaluated on the basis of their performance in class, as well as a project-based exam given during the final meeting of each course.
Univ. Prof. Dr. Jonas Puck, Full Professor at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business; Laurenz Tinhof, Teaching and Research Associate at WU Vienna University of Economics and Busines.
In this course students will be introduced to the motivations and strategies of firm internationalization, and how those are affected by an increasingly digital world. Students will understand how globalization and competition drives internationalization and how firms decide to respond to simultaneous demands for adapting to local contexts and streamlining their activities globally. On this basis, we will then introduce the specific characteristics of digital business, discussing networks, ecosystems, and near zero marginal costs. Finally, we will combine the previously learned concepts to understand if, how, and when digital business internationalizes and how they differ from traditional firms.
Associate Prof. Dr. Venelin Boshnakov, Lecturer in Applied Statistics and Data Analysis, University of National and World Economy, Sofia
The course introduces students to system of official statistics of Europe, as collected and provided to the end users by the European Commission through its Directorate EUROSTAT. The course covers three general types of end users that can benefit from the official statistics: businesses, societies (including the citizens), and governments. Students will familiarize with the major areas for which official statistics is provided via the digital platform of EUROSTAT – a comprehensive database with specific tree structure for allocation of the vast variety of indicators. Sessions will be delivered through a blended teaching by a combination of interactive lectures, exercised in a computer lab, and team working on a practical project assigned by the lecturer.
Prof. Dr. Odile Heynders, Professor of Comparative Literature at the Department of Culture Studies of Tilburg University.
This course considers typical and interrelated phenomena in the digital public sphere(s): post-truth, fake news, hyper-reality (or propaganda), and cancel-culture. We will examine how these phenomena impair European democracies, and what strategies could be implemented to overcome this. The course is based on an interdisciplinary approach: We will make use of media theories, cultural studies, and political philosophy. Interactive construction of knowledge is ensured with multiple study methods (discursive, visual, and textual).
Prof. Dr. Laurence Calandri, Lecturer in Public Law, Toulouse University 1 Capitole
Through several disciplines, both within the branches of law (company law, public economic law, economics, etc.), this course aims to establish a coherent knowledge in both legal, economic and political dimensions, of the rules applicable to the regulated media sector, and further analysis the new conception of the legal systems that is being put in place in digital and media law.
Regulation and/or Compliance is based on the idea to understand the relation(s) to Risk which must be prevented and/or managed. If it is a characteristic of banking, finance and insurance, energy, health, transport, agricultural, as Compliance Law put the protection of Humans as “monumental goals” decides by public bodies and internalized in private large companies, it’s especially true in the digital and media sectors with a specific balance (censorship issues): freedom of expression and regulation and compliance.
Additional activities
Participants will have the opportunity to partake in organized social/cultural excursions to visit the treasured historical monuments and archeological wonders of the “eternal city”. Practical experiences and field trips will also be organized in cooperation with members of the ENGAGE.EU Advisory Board, and there will be time to socialize in the evening and explore the city’s nightlife and world-famous cuisine.
Accommodation
Participants will stay in single rooms in our university residence halls close to campus and be provided with shuttle service when necessary. The university and its residence halls are located in the center of Rome, situated between Rome’s two most famous public gardens — Villa Borghese and Villa Ada — in the historic Parioli neighborhood.
Application requirements
Your Profile
The ENGAGE.EU Summer school is targeted toward students of any citizenship who are enrolled in a bachelor’s program at an ENGAGE.EU alliance university (University of Mannheim, Luiss University, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Tilburg University, University of National and World Economy, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, Vienna University of Economics and Business).
There are no prerequisites for this interdisciplinary program, and students from diverse backgrounds (such as business, economics, law, social sciences) are encouraged to apply, as long as they have a significant interest in:
- Exploring digital transformation as a major driver of societal change in Europe
- Exploring the impact of this transformation in the areas of business, law, and political society
- Gaining new skills and tools pertinent the digital paradigm shift
Application
To apply to the ENGAGE.EU Summer School Candidates should provide:
- A short letter (max. 500 words) explaining your motivation for applying to the ENGAGE.EU Summer School
- Curriculum vitae (education, work experience, language skills, study/work abroad, other relevant skills and experiences)
- Academic records (transcript of exams)
Selection
Submitted applications are evaluated by a selection committee made up of professors and academic staff from the ENGAGE.EU partner universities. Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of their motivation letter and CV. In order to ensure equal participation among students from the different partner universities, the selection committee will aim at choosing a maximum of six students from each partner university. Final decisions also consider a range of criteria for cohort composition, including but not limited to disciplinary balance, institutional diversity, and demographic diversity.
Additional Details
In order to complete their application prospective students will have to fill in the application form below and upload CV, academic records and motivation letter (in Word or PDF format), together with:
- Copy of international passport or European identity card – to be uploaded in PDF;
- Passport photo in JPG format.
Applications must be submitted by 15 April 2022 at midnight CET. All documents have to be in English, except for those regarding the academic records (which can be in any language of the partner Universities).
Results will be communicated by 20 May 2022.
By 5 June 2022 selected students will have to confirm the registration by paying the fee of €100.
Contact: engageeu-summerschool@luiss.it.