To validate the DICE Accelerator in a practical setting, we conducted a pilot
programme to gather feedback from educators, course directors, but also from
students, on both the content of the Digital Community Courses and the functionality of the Accelerator platform. The DICE Accelerator is designed to provide educators and course directors with the necessary knowledge, tools, and a structured environment to effectively deliver courses focused on digital community engagement.
Between February and April 2025, a total of nine educators from three European universities participated in the pilot testing:
– 3 educators from the Technical University of Košice, Slovakia
– 3 educators from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain
– 3 educators from IUL Telematic University, Italy
They used the Accelerator methodology to either create or enhance their courses with the elements of digital community engagement. A total of nine distinct courses across a variety of disciplines, including project management, marketing, communication strategies, adult education, journalism, and chemistry were tested.
The result of the piloting is the Best practice report – a comprehensive analysis of the piloting outcomes. A total of 198 practices were collected and grouped into 12 distinctive clusters, based on common focus areas and pedagogical strategies.
This collection is particularly valuable for educators and instructional designers who are planning to integrate Digital Community Engagement activities into their own courses. Each cluster includes an overview of the good practices, a discussion of their relevance, and a visual map of alignment with the DICE Accelerator phases. To support practical implementation, each cluster also includes a tailored Educator Checklist, offering guiding questions and criteria to help teachers adapt the practices to their own contexts.
The report will be available for download in July 2025 at the following link:
https://www.diceaccelerator.eu/results/wp4-accelerator-development-4-digital-
accelerator-training-and-best-practices-report/
