APPLICATIONS OPEN

From September 28- 29, 2023, we will be running an online Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age Syllabus Masterclass. The masterclass is FREE, and applications are now open.

What is it?

The purpose of the Masterclass is to provide practical training to University educators to support them in teaching a range of key digital-era skills that will be essential for helping their students thrive in a changing digital era public sector, and especially in modern government jobs.

The Masterclass is designed for educators who teach students who either are already public servants or who are on career paths to becoming public servants. This means that our Masterclass is especially useful to professors and lecturers in schools of public administration and public policy, though it is not limited to them. Educators working in economics, politics, finance departments and business schools may also train people entering future jobs in the public service. If you do, then our Masterclass is for you!

The training is a free supplement to the open access syllabus and teaching materials that we co-created with a community of academics and government practitioners in ten countries. These teaching materials are now in use across 18 different universities globally (and counting!) and translated into five languages.

Who is running the masterclass? 

We are Professor Amanda Clarke, Professor Dr. Ines Mergel, Professor David Eaves, and Tom Steinberg, the leadership team behind Teaching Public Service in the Digital Age - an open access education resource developed over the last three years. 

Who should apply?

The Masterclass is open to educators who teach within universities, from around the world.

It is suitable for two types of people:

1. Educators who teach public policy or administration-related skills but who do NOT consider themselves to be digital specialists and who want to develop the confidence to teach the fundamentals.

2. Educators who DO consider themselves to be digital government specialists who are looking to broaden their teaching beyond the sub-specialism of digital government which they feel comfortable within.

As an educator who is already a digital specialist, why should I attend?

If you are already a digital expert, you almost certainly have specialisations in which you are an authority. This expertise is a huge asset when teaching within the comfort zone of your primary speciality. Nevertheless, current and future public servants need to have a certain minimum level of knowledge across a wide range of digital-era subjects, from data ethics or project management to modern project management practices.

With our training and free open-access syllabus, we can give you the skills and confidence to teach digital government fundamentals outside your focus area. This will help you train graduates with a wide range of key competencies to help them succeed in public service roles.

As an educator who is a specialist in non-digital topics, why should I attend?

As a professor or lecturer you will already be aware that the digital revolution has been challenging and transforming governments. But how are you supposed to adapt your teaching to keep up with the digital era? And how are you supposed to work out what digital knowledge is essential vs optional for most people graduating into the public service?

That’s where we come in. We’ve taken the burden of working out what the core digital era competencies are that all public servants need to possess. And we’ve developed a range of free, accessible training materials, and masterclasses to help you learn how to teach the fundamentals in this new domain.

Join us for a Masterclass and feel your teaching confidence grow, enabling you to add digital components to your public policy and public administration teaching with confidence.

Cost and eligibility

The Masterclass is FREE for applicants teaching in universities, thanks to support from the Public Interest Technology Infrastructure Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Schmidt Futures.

We welcome applicants from almost all countries. While the syllabus is available in five languages, the sessions take place in English, and attendees will need strong English language skills to participate fully.

Due to limited numbers, applicants are not guaranteed a place and will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. A strong interest in teaching using our free and open-access syllabus materials in the coming year.

2. Diversity of participants - including ensuring a spread of attendees from multiple countries.

3. The relevance of the applicant’s experience to the successful teaching of current and future public servants.

I teach in a government academy, not a university - can I apply?

No, not this time, sorry. This specific Masterclass is focused on the needs of University educators. However, we will be running courses to meet the needs of government educators soon. Sign up to our newsletter to find out when those are open.

If you have any questions before you apply, please email mailbox@teachingpublicservice.digital.

The deadline for applications is September 04, 2023 at noon BST.

Apply here