European Master Program in Language and Communication Technologies

Call reference: EAC/A03/2018

Programme: Erasmus+

Key Action: Learning Mobility of Individuals

Action Type: Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees

Project Reference: 610622-EPP-1-2019-1-DE-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB

Action title: European Master Program in Language and Communication Technologies

Summary

Language and communication technologies provide people with natural ways to communicate with machines, information repositories and other people. This “computing with language(s)” is a rapidly growing field that draws on a unique mix of skills and approaches from multiple disciplines, across the humanities (e.g. linguistics, psychology) and technical sciences (e.g. computer science, artificial intelligence, software engineering, machine learning). It is therefore difficult for a single university to cover the full range of complex and diverse skills and attain excellence across such a breadth of disciplines. The “European Master Program in Language and Communication Technologies” (LCT) joins forces and combines top expertise across Europe in order to (A) provide world-class training in LCT with a broad multi-disciplinary basis; (B) foster excellence for future generations of experts and leaders in LCT research and innovation; (C) become a bridge and facilitator between academia and industry in the European higher education area; (D) Nurture inclusiveness and diversity w.r.t. vulnerable groups and regions with social/economic challenges.The LCT Consortium of seven European universities jointly implements an academic curriculum consisting of (i) core modules developing common LCT competencies shared by all graduates; (ii) specialized modules organized in three tracks with different pre-requisites and preparing for different careers: Digital Language Resources; Natural Language Algorithms and Applications; Language Data Science; (iii) Free choice and soft skills courses for additional expertise; (iii) obligatory internship; and (iv) jointly supervised master thesis. LCT students meet regularly at the internal summer schools (focusing on academic induction in year 1 and transferable skills in year 2) and the annual meeting.Each student studies at two universities of the consortium, one year each. They acquire 120 ECTS credits in total and after successful completion of all requirements obtain a double master degree accompanied by a joint diploma supplement. The awarded degrees are accredited in the issuing countries. The language of instruction is English.The LCT program has developed excellent reputation, is attracting highly qualified candidates (including self-funding students), and its alumni are sought after in academia and industry worldwide. We have created strong links to industry partners who will actively contribute to the implementation of the program (e.g., internship network, practical courses). The EM funding will let us realize new specific goals in order to further raise the excellence and attractiveness of the program. In addition to the EM funding requested, we will conduct a multi-tier external funding raising campaign based on the successful collaboration with industry partners we have established.