REFERENCE: 553671-EPP-1-2014-1-AT-EPPKA1-JMD-MOB_MediACTITLE: Media Arts Cultures, MediACObjectiveMedia Arts Cultures (MediAC) has the goal of providing students with advanced historical and theoretical knowledge in Media Arts in an innovative combination with creative, artistic, curatorial, and technological practices. Course durationTwo years (120 ECTS credits).Brief descriptionThe consortium universities are Danube University Krems (Austria), Aalborg University (Danish), University of Lodz (Poland) and City University of Hong Kong (China). The curriculum of MediaAC answers the needs of the evolving fields related to the future and heritage of Media Arts Cultures. Our global digital world is filled with new media culture that encompasses the big questions of today such as the processes of globalisation, utopias of neuroscience, political repression, big data, and the growing world-wide surveillance. Thus, the analysis of media arts cultures is socially and culturally enlightening. The examination of historical media art forms offers technological insights which, though left behind in the standardisation process, may be vital to the next generation of software and hardware engineers, as well as to cultural practitioners. Thus, Media Arts have great potential for critical reflection and future innovation. But they are especially vulnerable to decay, because media evolution accelerates. In the first semester, MediaAC starts in Austria with “Histories and Archiving” focusing on the humanities-oriented study of the Histories of Media Arts Science and Technology and the relation and importance of innovative archiving for future research in Media Arts Heritage. In the second semester, the programme continues in Denmark with the applied processes of initiating and realizing experience design projects and their relationships to academic methodologies and the non-academic private and public-sector activities. Students will complete an internship collecting experiences on-site with associated partners. The third semester, which takes place in Poland or Hong Kong, concentrates on the development of the production of knowledge and creative output within the evolving Media Arts Cultures and help define international directions for future needs within the field to be addressed in research during the final master’s thesis semester. The master’s thesis semester can be completed at any of the three Programme Country HEIs as well as at the Partner County HEI in Asia. Special emphasis is given to transferable skills and to real-world connections. Career prospectsMediAC allows students to find a PhD position or a job in all those sectors related to media art and media cultures that require advanced competencies. The programme addresses the needs of the academic field as well as the demands of stakeholders from the creative and cultural sector like creative industries, emergent digital businesses, future digital museums, galleries and archives. Students complete an internship collecting experiences on-site with associated partners, bridging their training to future employment perspectives. An international experienceMediAC selects and gathers every year students from all over the world. They receive language courses and intercultural training for European and world-wide cooperation (especially with Asia). The programme counts on the expertise of international scholars and guest lecturers and offers its coursesDiplomaUpon successful completion of the requirements of the course and a master’s thesis, graduates will be awarded a joint master's degree from at least two of the four partner universities. The degree is a 120 ECTS Master of Arts in Media Arts Cultures.Websitehttp://www.mediaartscultures.eu/mediaac/