The curriculum of the Department of Cultural Technology and Communication (D.C.T.C.) is structured according to the international standards of curricula in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural Informatics. As the scientific fields covered by the Department are constantly evolving, the content of the courses being taught is constantly being updated, as well as new ones are introduced, so that the Department can ensure both high-quality educational process as well as scientific research.

Museology - Courses

1. Introduction to Exhibition Design
2. Introduction to Museology
3. Exhibition Design
4. Museums and Digital Technologies
5. Museums and Cultural Policies
6. Management Collections of Cultural Organisations

The specialisation in Museology is based on a synthesis of contemporary museological theory with the practical issues related to the creation of a physical or a virtual exhibition. Special emphasis is given to innovative exhibition tools, such as multimedia applications, augmented reality, etc. In this context, the courses offered combine the systematic approach of specific issues concerning collection management, exhibition design, visitor experience, on the one hand, and the familiarisation of students with digital technologies that can support an exhibit’s design, production and consumption, on the other.

Museology - Courses

1. Introduction to Museology

The course introduces students to the general theoretical and methodological problems that concern today’s museological discussion:

• The museum of hyper-modernity and its role
• Museum in the crowded and, in some extend, competitive environment of cultural institutions, mass media, information networks, education mechanisms and leisure industries
• Museum’s interaction with society as a whole and with specific social groups
• Museum’s relation with the ideological state mechanisms
• The decisive effect of digital technology on museum’s organization and function

Moreover, in this line of thought, the course will discuss specific topics such as:

• Materiality, visuality and multisensoriality
• Museum audiences
• The stories of “others”
• Memory and oblivion
• Digital and virtual museum
• Museums in a troubled world
2. Introduction to Graphic Design

The "Graphic Design" course refers to the student’s contact with the basic concepts and notation of the composition elements, in order to raise awareness of the role of visual communication codes. The subjects of the course include basic terminology and design rules, an introduction to graphic design that aims to lead to the discovery and understanding of visual language. More specifically, issues such as form and composition and value in the planning process, balance, pace and harmony are examined. It also analyzes the basic principles of the theory of color and its semiology as well as the basic principles of Typography and typographic canvas.

3. Exhibition Design

The course attempts to link general moral and political principles and specific interpretational choices with concrete exhibition practices. Aims to systematically examine these practices, going beyond obvious subjective aesthetics and technical limitations.

In the first part of the course, we will try to identify such conscious or unconscious relations, examining actual exhibitions.

In the second part, we will outline the general theoretical and methodological issues that raise when planning a specific museum exhibition. Specifically, we will deal with:

• Issues related to the communication of a certain scientific, social, artistic subject, using the museum toolkit.
• The construction of a specific narrative strategy
• The transformation of a narrative concept to a concrete museum product
• The determination of a specific exhibit’s basic planning principles
• The stages that lead to the final exhibit proposal

In this frame, we will also touch upon special issues, such as:

• Materiality, visuality and multisensoriality
• Interactivity
• Museum objects’ authenticity
• Interpretation, labeling
• Spatiality
4. Information Management

Museums as cultural institutions collect and manage great volume of information relating to the objects of the collections in their possession. Additional information relate to the organisation and functioning of the museum (personnel, organizational structure, physical resources and processes). This course aims to introduce students to the information management concepts, addressing theoretical, technical and methodological issues, placing emphasis to the informational needs of museums. It studies the digital systems used in museums focusing on data bases and collection management systems. User requirements analysis methods and conceptual modelling tools towards the development of collection management systems are presented. Knowledge management approaches with emphasis on metadata and associated challenges such as data fragmentation and systems interoperability are also discussed. Understanding of the above issues is completed through case studies, as well as the development of simple applications.

5. Audiovisual Media and Museums

The course is designed to offer theoretical knowledge and elementary technical-practical skills for the creation of video-productions that can be used in a Museum or an exhibition event, in general. At the same time, it aims at a holistic approach of the creation and use of audio-visual applications in a wide range of autonomous and auxiliary, or interactive productions, such as videos for the web, cultural organizations and other purposes. Through various examples it will be understood how the planning, the filming, the editing and the watching of film products are organized, in different environments.

6. Cultural Planning II

The course is connected to “Cultural Planning I”: it focuses on applications that combine the theoretical principles discussed in the previous semester with specific practices aiming at preparing a local-scale cultural project by the students. After the successful completion of the course the students

• will be familiar with the successive steps of a complete cultural planning project,
• will understand how a community’s cultural assets can be preserved and used, taking into consideration social cohesion, cultural and economic development, and
• will be able to participate in interdisciplinary teams working on cultural plans.
7. Exhibitions and Visual Communication

The course approaches in a systematic way the visual identity of an exhibit, from its logo and promotion material to every specific detail of various exhibition’s elements. Students are introduced in the principles of User-centered design, visitor’s experience, and interface design in its broadest sense. The course combines theoretical lectures, extended discussion on actual exhibition examples, and small assignments, that build step by step the approach of a complete project. Thus, students will be able (a) to understand how abstract ideas can be visualised, and (b) to design the logo and the other elements of a concise exhibit’s visual identity.

8. World Wide Web and Digital Culture

This course will present Web Technologies and their applications, with an emphasis on Digital Culture. Its curriculum aims to provide postgraduate students with the necessary knowledge on contemporary issues related to the World Wide Web with an emphasis on modern communication applications, multimedia content transmission and cultural support services. Emphasis will be given on digital collections and / or digital exhibitions management, cultural information organization and dissemination through Social Networking platforms, Visitor Behavior Analytics, and Virtual Tours. Finally, advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Intelligent Personal Assistants, the Cultural Data Web, and Conceptual Reference and Interoperability Models, always with an emphasis on Digital Culture, will be introduced.

9. Augmented Cultural Experience

The course aims to enhance and optimize the cultural user experience through emerging fields of computing but also to support all stages of cultural management from recording and documentation to promotion. The technologies discussed include intelligent systems and techniques of machine learning and artificial intelligence, Ubiquitous Computing and Internet of Things and personalization and context awareness, physical and intelligent human-computer interaction as well as design, prototyping and evaluating methodologies of users’ cultural experience, semantic representation and open and interconnected data, augmented and virtual reality, playful interaction and digital storytelling. The above methods and technologies will be approached through existing and potential systems and applications, in order to better understand their capabilities and the methodology of their integration in new applications. The didactic approach is based on the project (problem) based learning methodology and includes assignments focusing on one or a combination of the above technologies and techniques with emphasis on their application in the context of cultural information management and the enhancing and optimizing of cultural user experience. 

10. Cultural Planning I

There is a growing awareness that a thriving, dynamic cultural life contributes to the establishment of sustainable and prosperous communities. In addition, the awareness of the contribution of culture to those goals has increased the complexity of planning and decision-making. Cultural planning is a response to these problems and a strategy which provides the creation of a single framework for maintaining and appreciation of the cultural resources.

Cultural planning is a multi-faceted approach, can be better understood as:

• The strategic use of cultural resources for the comprehensive development of communities at the local and regional level.
• An approach based on broad definitions of "culture" and "cultural resources", which cover heritage, local traditions, arts, architecture, urban planning, sports, tourism etc.
• A culturally sensitive approach to urban and regional planning and environmental, social and economic policy.