Masaryk University is one of the first universities in Europe to introduce specialised courses that end with a micro-credential, i.e. an electronic certificate confirming the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills. These e-certificates are internationally recognised and understandable and can be used as proof of acquired competence not only on the Czech labour market but also abroad. For more details about this new feature in the European educational landscape, read the article MU micro-credentials will revolutionise professional education.
This month Masaryk University issued its first three micro-credentials at the Faculty of Economics and Administration. In the next few days the Faculty of Science will issue another 60 micro-credentials and the Faculty of Law about 110. One of the first graduates was student Lukáš Šafář who completed the half-semester course Fundamentals of Econometrics in the R System, taught at the Faculty of Economics and Administration. The course is offered within the framework of lifelong learning at Masaryk University and, similarly to other courses in the micro-credentials system, can be taken by anyone from students to employees of various companies to the public.
“I stumbled across the opportunity to sign up for a specialised course on the Faculty’s LinkedIn and it was exactly what I needed. I was writing my thesis and wanted to get up to speed with R, an environment for statistical data analysis and graphical presentation. The course was offered in two options and I chose the one with the micro-credential, so I had to do two more major assignments and a final project, but I didn't mind at all. I really like the concept of micro-credentials,” said the student.
“I would like to get more micro-credentials in the future”
A new trend in education across Europe allows anyone to extend their education in a few weeks to one-semester courses that can help them not only increase their employability on the labour market, but also, for example, their career progression to a higher position. Participants will receive a micro-credential on completion of the course, which will always end with a verifiable way of checking the competences acquired. This will be available to course graduates in the IS and in the national system for verifying micro-credentials available at microcertifikat.cz, which allows them to prove their validity to anyone, including employers in the Czech Republic and abroad.
The student from the Faculty of Economics and Administration likes the novelty on the European education market and is looking forward to more such courses in the future. “The extension courses are a great thing and I imagine I would take more courses like this one. You have to put in the time to study, of course, but it will certainly come in handy. For example, I will be joining an auditing firm after my State exam and I will need experience with different economic tools,” says the student.
Lukáš Šafář appreciates the week-long course focused on working with the R system and would recommend it to others. Although the online classes were held in the evenings from six to eight, the classes were very interactive and they managed to cover a large number of topics during the seven weeks of instruction. The lecturer was also great and answered questions by email even at the weekend, so if students needed help with an assignment or the final project, he was always available outside of class hours.
“I received my micro-credential for completing the course electronically last week. I’ve already added it to my LinkedIn and will probably add it to my CV as well. I really like the idea of upskilling courses and I think the company I will be joining would be interested in similar courses to upskill their employees in this area. It also has great potential for employers who can train their staff through university courses. I would recommend it to them, it was a great experience,” the student added.
This semester, Masaryk University taught courses in the micro-credentials system in a pilot mode under the National Recovery Plan (MUNI project 3.2.1, Reg. No. NPO_MUNI_MSMT-16606/2022). In addition to the course Fundamentals of Econometrics in the R System, the course Education of Expert Witnesses in Legal Skills at the Faculty of Law and the course Satellite Data in Science Education at the Faculty of Science were also taught in the spring. The course offerings will gradually expand over the summer and will be available on the Lifelong learning portal of the muni.cz website, along with offerings of other professional and interest-based lifelong learning (LLL) courses. Within two years, MU should have 29 micro-certified courses on offer, with a prospective goal of around 100 such courses.
The implementation of microcertificates was supported by the National Recovery Plan under the MUNI 3.2.1 project, registration number NPO_MUNI_MSMT-16606/2022.