Digital Community Engagement Accelerator for student learning and socio-economic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that many activities could successfully move online. We adapted to working remotely, teaching virtually, and even connecting socially through digital tools. Digitalization became a part of everyday life, and universities were no exception. But beyond research and teaching, universities also had a third mission: to act as a bridge between academia and society, using their expertise to address social and economic challenges.The project aimed to combine these two topics: digitalization and the third mission of universities. Drawing inspiration from business accelerators, DICE developed a program to guide university educators in designing digital CE courses. Traditional CE had restrictions, whereas digital tools offered a broader scope—reaching across borders and involving groups that were previously difficult to access. Still, many educators struggled with where to start. They often lacked the awareness, structure, and support needed to take their courses digital. DICE responded to this by offering a structured, step-by-step program to make digital CE more accessible and impactful.

The DICE project aimed to strengthen the third mission of universitis, their engagement with society, while at the same time fostering digitalisation in higher education. Our goal was to bring community engagement into the online environment through the development of the DICE Accelerator, an innovative online platform that guides educators step by step in creating or enhancing their courses with digital community engagement components. The Accelerator was built upon the Value Maps framework, a value-based tool that helps educators identify areas in their courses where improvements can increase both social impact and student learning outcomes. To make this process systematic, we created a structured (Manual for Designing Digital Community Engagement Courses) to further assist educators in applying this approach. By piloting selected courses, we were able to test, refine, and validate the Value Maps, the Manual, and the DICE Accelerator itself. Last but not least, the project sought to generate sustainable impact by producing two key deliverables— the Best Practices Report and the DICE Handbook—which compile lessons learned, successful practices, and policy recommendations for integrating DICE courses into higher education systems

WP1: TUKE created the Project Management Handbook, promo video, and coordinated Interim and Final reports. IUL, as dissemination leader, prepared the dissemination and sustainability strategy, website, social media, and promotional materials. ACEEU, as QA leader, produced e-newsletters, the QA strategy with an Impact Vision Plan, and all QA evaluations. TUKE and ACEEU conducted progress evaluations. WP2: TUKE led WP2, including the Literature Review for Value Maps and a student survey. ACEEU developed the content management system for Value Maps. TUKE focused on Value Maps for Student Learning, while IUL led Value Maps for Social Impact. ACEEU created and validated the Value Maps prototype. WP3: HELIX developed the Manual for Designing Digital Community Engagement Courses. ACEEU led the Accelerator creation – technical specifications, planning, platform development, and testing. WP4: UAH led all WP4 activities—preparation, educator workshop, and piloting. Based on results, the Accelerator was refined and validated. UAH also prepared the Best Practices Report with support from all partners. WP5: HELIX coordinated the DICE Handbook creation and Launch Event, with contributions from all partners and support from ACEEU.

The DICE project delivered the following key outputs: WP1: Project Management Handbook, Dissemination Strategy, project website, promotional materials, and Sustainability Strategy. WP2: Literature Review for Value Maps (report covering 5 project countries and Europe), DICE Country Reports (state-of-the-art of DICE in partner countries), Student Survey Report (student perspectives on DICE), and two Value Maps (Social Impact and Student Learning). WP3: Manual for Designing Digital Community Engagement Courses – a guide for educators to create innovative courses using the Accelerator and Digital Accelerator – an online platform providing a self-guided structure for developing courses with digital community engagement elements WP4: Digital Accelerator Workshop for educators to prepare them for piloting and a Best Practice Report with best practices and lessons learned collected during piloting and throughout project implementation. WP5: DICE Handbook – strategies and policy recommendations for integrating DICE into university structures, and the DICE Launch Event – a virtual event for stakeholders to share best practices and promote DICE results, especially the Accelerator.