Requirements for successful completion of the course

1. Individual project 1: Digital audit 🔍📱

• Your task is to conduct a digital audit of one EU actor of your choice. This could be an EU institution (e.g. European Commission, European Parliament, EEAS), an EU Delegation abroad, or even a high-profile EU representative (e.g. an Ambassador, President, or Commissioner). The goal is to critically assess how this actor uses digital platforms as a tool of diplomacy and communication. You will investigate not only what they post, but also how effectively they build trust, engage audiences, and project the EU’s values in a digital environment.
  • In your digital audit, begin by introducing the EU actor you have chosen. Explain briefly who they are, why you selected them, and what role they play in the broader EU landscape.  
  • Next, map out the actor’s digital presence in detail. How you choose to do this is up to you — you might decide to provide an overview of the platforms they are active on, describe the formats they use most often (whether text-based updates, videos, memes, livestreams, or infographics), or assess how professional and strategic their overall presence appears. You could also focus on the themes and narratives they emphasize and explore how these connect to EU priorities such as climate action, responses to the war in Ukraine, the promotion of values, or enlargement. Another angle might be to consider their communication style: do they rely primarily on emotional storytelling, on data and facts, on visuals, or on humor?
    • Whichever approach you take, it is essential that you illustrate your points with concrete examples from the actor’s actual digital activity. Refer to specific posts, campaigns, or interactions, and provide details such as screenshots, dates, or engagement metrics where relevant. The strength of your audit will come from grounding your analysis in real material, not abstract generalizations.
  •  Finally, evaluate their digital diplomacy efforts and offer your own recommendations. Highlight the main strengths of their current approach — what seems to work well. Then point out weaknesses or gaps, where they appear to struggle or fall short of expectations. Conclude by proposing two creative and actionable ideas that could help them improve their digital diplomacy.
• Visuals welcome.
• Provide references and bibliography at the end. The bibliography must also include references to the examples from examples from the actor’s actual digital activity

• Length: 2,000 words (excluding references).

• Submission deadline: 1 November 2025 to the appropriate homework vault (Odevzdávárna)   
• Maximum number of points: 10.

2. Individual project 2: Vlog 🎥

• Students record a vlog on this topic: If attention is the new currency, how should the EU’s digital diplomacy earn it without resorting to clickbait?
• This is to encourage students to submit assignments also in unique, creative and non-traditional ways. I believe that in a world where students are increasingly challenged to think outside the box, they should have an opportunity to submit assignments that challenge them.  
• The vlog is 5 minutes maximum. 
• Submission deadline: 30 November 2025 to the appropriate homework vault (Odevzdávárna)   
• Maximum number of points: 10.

3. Group project: Academic policy poster for a policy hackathon + presentation during the policy hackathon 🤝

• Your group’s task is to tackle one of the toughest challenges in EU digital diplomacy today: how to counter disinformation and fake news without sounding paternalistic or boring.
  • Disinformation campaigns and fake news have become central tools of influence, shaping public perceptions of the EU both at home and abroad. Yet when the EU responds, it often faces a dilemma: either it risks sounding like a distant authority lecturing citizens, or it produces content that fails to capture attention in the noisy online environment. Neither approach is sustainable if the EU wants to defend its values, build trust, and keep audiences engaged.
• Your mission is to propose innovative, actionable, and realistic solutions that the EU could adopt in its digital diplomacy to fight disinformation effectively - without falling into the traps of dry fact-checking or patronizing messaging. Think creatively about formats, platforms, partnerships, and tone. Imagine how the EU could make truth-telling not just reliable, but also compelling, relatable, and shareable.
• Each group will design a one-page academic policy poster (no need to print; a digital version is enough). The poster should present your solution clearly, visually, and persuasively. It must include:
• Title of your solution
• Core idea / innovation (your proposed approach, explained in plain and concise language).
• Implementation plan (how the EU could put it into practice; who, when, where).
• Expected impact (what difference it would make and how success could be measured).
• Key visuals or graphics (flowcharts, mock screenshots, campaign sketches).
• 
  
• All groups will present their academic policy posters during a policy  hackathon on 4 November. The length of the presentation mustn’t exceed 5 minutes.  This constraint is to encourage concise, focused, and impactful delivery of content. 
• There will be 9 group projects in total; each student will participate in one project only. The number of people in each group will be 4.  
•  Submission deadline: 29 October 2025 to the appropriate homework vault (Odevzdávárna)   
• Distribution into the groups: How you form groups is entirely up to you. Each group will subscribe to a designated group slot (e.g., Group 1, Group 2, Group 3) via IS (Topic Lists) The process will commence on 26 September 2025 at 6 pm and finish on 1 October 2025 at 6 pm. 
• Maximum number of points: 10.

4. Participation in seminars 💬 

• Seminar attendance is mandatory and will be taken by a sign-in sheet. Maximum of three seminar absences is allowed. Participation in seminars is an essential requirement for successfully completing the course. Failure to meet this requirement will result in an automatic failure of the entire course, regardless of performance in other assignments. 
• Bear in mind that there will be one or two reading week(s) during the semester. The dates will be announced later during the semester.
• Students are also expected to thoroughly comprehend the readings designated for each class session. These materials form the foundation of our discussions and debates. A deep understanding of these texts will not only enhance individual learning but will also contribute to richer, more informed class interactions. 
• Number of points: 10.

✅ Requirements for successful completion of the course are distributed as follows:

• Individual project 1: max. 10 points
• Individual project 2: max. 10 points
• Group project: max. 10 points
• Attendence: 10 point
• TOTAL: max 40 points 

Students must meet an overall minimum of 60 % of the points to successfully complete the course.

A:      37–40 points
B:      34–36 points 
C:      31–33 points
D:      28–30 points 
E:      24–27 points
F:      23 and less points