Together with the Academy for Theatre and Digitality – the sixth division of Theater Dortmund – Dortmund University of Applied Sciences will be offering a new international degree programme starting next semester. The Master's programme in Theatre and Digitality combines digital technologies and the performing arts. The programme provides comprehensive, practical and application-oriented knowledge of digital storytelling techniques and the dramaturgical possibilities of virtual and hybrid realities, motion capturing and machine learning, sensor technology and robotics.
‘There is no comparable programme in Germany or Europe,’ emphasised Prof. Dr. Tamara Appel, Rector of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences, at the signing of the cooperation agreement between Theater Dortmund and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences. "This degree programme reflects our commitment to aligning education with the innovations of our time. Students have the opportunity to combine art and technology in a way that is both culturally enriching and socially relevant." Graduates will work as digital storytellers, creative coders or digital stage creators at a municipal or state theatre, for festivals or in the business sector, for example for events and trade fairs or in the gaming industry. The use of digital and performative narratives is also constantly increasing in museums.
Ina Brandes, Minister for Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia: ‘This degree programme is very much in tune with the times. Art and culture are increasingly making use of digital media. The new master's programme trains students who combine artistic and technical skills. This successful networking of culture and science has an impact far beyond Dortmund.’
The new Master's Programme is aimed at Bachelor's graduates in technical and design, stage technology and artistic disciplines alike. Teaching takes place at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts in the Design Department, in the new building of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality in Dortmund's harbour district, and in the university's own creative laboratory, storyLab kiU, in the Dortmund U – and is conducted entirely in English. ‘The opening up of the performing arts to new and digital technologies creates – similar to media art – fluid transitions between the arts and promotes international collaborations from various artistic, technical and scientific fields,’ says Marcus Lobbes, Director of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality. ‘Students from Germany and abroad can benefit from the extensive regional and international networks in which the academy has been successfully operating since its foundation in 2019.’