RAQMYAT Project
Digital Strategies for Doctoral Training in Humanities and Social Sciences in Tunisia
The political and social context stemming from the Tunisian revolution of 2011 and the ensuing democratic transition underscores the imperative reliance on the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) to conceptualize ongoing transformations and enrich the debates within Tunisian society. In this context, enhancing the quality of training provided by doctoral schools in HSS assumes strategic importance. The RAQMYAT project will contribute to the emergence of a new paradigm of doctoral education in Humanities and Social Sciences in Tunisia. This overarching objective will be approached through the lens of developing practices related to the integration of digital HSS and bolstering cross-disciplinary skills in the doctoral programs of seven Tunisian universities. Each recipient doctoral school will establish a digital development strategy. A set of eight online courses will be assembled to introduce a maximum number of doctoral candidates within partner universities to digital humanities and the use of digital tools for research. Tunisian professors will be trained in utilizing these modules as well as in pedagogical engineering for distance learning. RAQMYAT will emphasize the development of digital-related soft skills to enhance the employability of doctoral candidates. Each Tunisian university will host a doctoral seminar during the project, enabling students to apply their research skills in collaboration with socio-professional stakeholders to address economic and social issues, either national or regional, related to digital development. Concurrently, two summer schools will facilitate the consolidation of a Euro-Tunisian cohort of HSS doctoral candidates who will be instrumental in establishing the community platform for disseminating research in digital humanities.
More concretely, the project will aim to :
● Enhance the research capabilities of doctoral students by improving their digital skills (a component of digital humanities).
● Promote the use of digital resources to enhance the non-academic skills of doctoral students (transferable skills and employability)..
● Enhance the research capabilities of doctoral students by improving their digital skills (a component of digital humanities).
● Promote the use of digital resources to enhance the non-academic skills of doctoral students (transferable skills and employability)..
Activities
The objective of the RAQMYAT project is to contribute to the emergence of a new doctoral training model in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) based on the existing legal framework in Tunisia. The methodological approach is to address this work from the perspective of mobilizing digital practices to support the research training of Tunisian doctoral candidates in various HSS disciplines and to enhance their cross-cutting skills essential for their job placement. RAQMYAT consists of the following work packages:
Work Package 1: Identification of resources and best practices in digital technologies in doctoral training in HSS.
Objective : Inventory of best practices.
Coordination :
University of Sousse
FMSH
University of Sousse FMSHMethodology: Field survey (visits to Tunisian doctoral schools) by two faculty members (1 from U Sousse, 1 from FMSH, duration 2 weeks)
Target Audience: Doctoral students, faculty members, institutional leaders in doctoral training
Key Events:
- Seminar on digital humanities during the project’s kick off meeting,
- Field survey (3), workshop for feedback during the Sousse meeting (M7).
Work Package 2. Defining and Implementing Digital Strategies for Doctoral Schools.
Objective : Define and implement digital strategies for doctoral schools (M1-M22).
Coordination :
University of La Manouba
University of Vienna
Methodology: Launch workshop in Sousse (M7); online survey of doctoral students, faculty, and technicians in each Tunisian doctoral school; drafting of the digital strategy by each Tunisian doctoral school; presentation of the strategies at the partners’ meeting in Kairouan (M17) followed by the implementation of digital strategies until the end of the project.
Target Audience: Institutional leaders in doctoral education.
Key Events:
University of La ManoubaUniversity of Vienna- Launch workshop in Tunis (M7)
- presentation of strategies in Kairouan (M17);
- followed by implementation during the summer schools in Vienna (M21) and Tunis (M22 project closure).
Work Package 3. Creation of online doctoral training courses (eight online courses on digital tools for research and soft skills).
Objective: Creation of a set of eight online training courses (M1 – M20).
Coordination:
Virtual University of Tunis
University of Vienna
Methodology: Each course is prepared by a pair of instructors (one Tunisian, one European), 24 hours per course. The first pedagogical meeting in Tunis (mutualized T2.1 with UMA) in M5 and definition of the first 4 courses in M5, recorded in Tunis M9-M12. Preparation of the last 4 courses (M1-M9), recording of the courses online in Tunis (M9-M12), editing of the videos of the last 4 courses, subtitling, and integration into the digital platform of UVT (M13-M20).
Target audience: Teacher-researchers
Deliverables: 8 online courses for digital HSS and cross-functional skills training.
Virtual University of Tunis University of ViennaWork Package 4. Training of Trainers.
Objective : Training of Trainers (M9-M18).
Coordination :
University of Granada
University of Tunis El Manar
Methodology: Preparation of the program for the first training session (M9-M12); first Training of Trainers session in Sfax (M17, 48 participants trained, 8 trainers); preparation of the second part of the training sessions between M13 and M18, second Training of Trainers session in M18 at the University of Tunis El Manar.
Target Audience: Teaching Researchers
Deliverables: Report of the firstTraining of Trainers session, report of the secondTraining of Trainers session.
University of GranadaUniversity of Tunis El ManarWork Package 5. Organization of Summer Schools and Doctoral
Objective : Organization of summer schools and doctoral workshops (Months 4-19)
Coordination :
University of Vienna
University of Manouba
Methodology: The first summer school will take place at Manouba in Month 9 (content preparation starting from Month 4 and logistical organization from Month 5). A second summer school will be held in Vienna in Month 19. Between these two summer schools, doctoral workshops will be organized at each participating university.
Deliverables: Assessment of Summer Schools, Organization and assessment of doctoral workshops in all universities
Target audience: Doctoral students
University of ViennaUniversity of ManoubaWork Package 6. Project Quality Assurance.
Subject : Overall monitoring and evaluation of the project to ensure the proper implementation of actions and achievement of objectives.
Coordination :
University of Granada
University of Kairouan
Methodology : Definition and adoption of the quality plan; preparation of satisfaction surveys for participants in the activities of the various work packages; quality analysis of deliverables.
Deliverables : Quality assurance plan; surveys; interim quality analysis report; redaction of the final report.
University of GranadaUniversity of KairouanWork Package 7: Promotion and Sustainability of Raqmyat Results
Subject : Dissemination and Exploitation.
Coordination :
University of Tunis
UNIMED
Methodology:Development of a dissemination plan and design of content, as well as creation of communication materials for the project. Certain activities within WP7 are specifically related to the creation of the Raqmyat SHS platform. This platform will be developed as a community website facilitating networking among project participants, sharing of content related to digital HSS (Humanities and Social Sciences), and providing project partners with key documents. An editorial committee will be established under the guidance of the lot coordinators during the launch events (M1). The first meeting of the editorial committee will take place during the Sousse seminar (M7), where an initial version of the specifications will be presented, developed by the lot coordinators (Months 4-7). The call for selection of the service provider will close at Month 9, with the site delivery scheduled for M13 (site launch during the Grenade meeting). The editorial committee will then convene via video conference four times a year until the end of the project.
Deliverables : Communication strategy; materials for project presentation; Project website and project profile on social networks; National, institutional, and local dissemination campaign; Final dissemination and exploitation event.
University of TunisUNIMEDWork Package 8. Project Management and Coordination
Subject : Management.
Coordination :
UNIMED
University of Manouba
UNIMEDUniversity of ManoubaMethodology: The objectives of this work package are to ensure the successful implementation of the project, in line with the procedures of Erasmus+ project management. The management relies on a close partnership with the University of Manouba, serving as a secondary coordinator for Tunisian institutions. This partnership will notably ensure the alignment of project management modalities with the administrative and financial procedures in place within Tunisian Higher Education, with a focus on efficiency for project success.
Deliverables : Internal management manual; meeting minutes; interim report; final report.
