More informationProject website:https://www.digitalmanuscripts.eu

The Erasmus+ Project Results Platform:https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/eplus-project-details/

Erasmus+

Key facts and figuresErasmus+

Project titleDigital Editing of Medieval Manuscripts

Field: Higher EducationAction: Strategic Partnerships

Lead organisationName: Univerzita KarlovaLocation: Prague, Czech RepublicWebsite: www.cuni.cz

PartnersStiftsbibliothek Klosterneuburg, Austria; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS, France; L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales, France; Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy; Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom

The Digital Editing of Medieval Manuscripts (DEMM) project has equipped medieval studies students with digital and project management skills to help them bring the world of medieval manuscripts onlineThis ground-breaking work has led to the publication of practical guides for digitising manuscript collections, a new digital library of innovative editions built over the years from students' works, and refined training materials that are now freely available.

Project coordinator Lucie Doležalová from Charles University in Prague explained:

‘ In medieval history studies there is often very little training in anything digital. We wanted to give students in the field of cultural heritage the technical skills and experience to be able to collaborate with computer scientists and graphic designers.’

Over the course of a year, students were given the oppor-tunity to work with original medieval manuscripts, before learning about ICT and project management. Then they collaborated with developers to apply digital technology and create online publications.

The experience has significantly enhanced the students’ skill-set, not only for specific digital projects but also for their professional life. They had the opportunity to learn to code, work together with developers and understand the digital environment.

The spirit of the project will be kept alive as a result of the links that have been forged between partner insti-tutions and countries. ‘Thanks to this project there is now a network of young scholars, who by now have finished their PhDs, across France, United Kingdom, Italy and the Czech Republic,’ added Doležalová.

DEMM continues to share its results. A workshop involv-ing project alumni was recently held in Cambridge, while another has been planned. Online course material is freely available, and the project team have added a version in Czech.

Taking medieval manuscripts into the digital age

Photo: © DEMM

Participants:200+

Countries:5

EU grant:€ 258,560

Project duration:2014-2017