Digital literacy project selected for University of the North Booster Fund

Recently , the University of the North awarded the first grants worth €75,000 from its Booster Fund. A project from ICOG was selected: ‘Digital literacy and inclusion; the basis for broad prosperity’ by Prof. Marcel Broersma , Professor of Media and Journalism Studies.

About Digital literacy and inclusion

The starting principle of the Digital literacy and inclusion project is to make our digital society more accessible for citizens who are not digitally skilled. The researchers aim to expand the existing Digital Literacy Coalition alliance into a Northern Netherlands network by actively working together with societal partners involved in initiatives to make our digital society more accessible. For instance, by training people with poor digital skills, designing applications in a clearer and more user-friendly manner, or developing alternative routes via which people who are not digitally skilled can still participate in our digital society. The Digital Literacy Coalition is an initiative by the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences, and further includes 20 partners from the Northern Netherlands.

About the Booster Fund

The University of the North is an initiative by the University of Groningen, the University Medical Center Groningen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, and vocational education institutions from the North. The Booster Fund aims to boost and accelerate the realization of the RIS3 goals and the University of the North’s objectives as laid out in the Knowledge Agenda. A sum of €250,000 per year is made available for this purpose. The second round of the funding scheme has since been launched, for which lecturers and researchers from the affiliated knowledge institutions can submit an application for their teaching, research, or valorization projects, with the criterion that they satisfy at least one of the transitions laid out in the Knowledge Agenda. An important condition is that at least three affiliated knowledge institutions are participating in the project.