Course	No. of Terms	Total Fee
Postgraduate Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0*	1	€1000
Postgraduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0**	3	€3000
Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0	6	€6000
Master in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0	9	€9000

• • • Candidates may pay per term at the rate of €1000 per term.
    • The total fee for the Master in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 is €9000
    • Fees paid are not refundable
    • Each higher level qualification fee includes the fee for the previous sub-qualification/s (for example the Post-Graduate Diploma in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 fee also includes the fee for the Postgraduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0)

On acceptance, the first instalment is to be deposited on MCAST account:

APS Bank Ltd

IBAN : MT25 APSB 7708 0005 6982 2000 0802 086

SWIFT: APSB MTMT

Please include Course Reference Number and you ID number in Payment Reference when transferring funds.

Payments by cheque adressed to MG2i are also accepted at Office of Part-time Courses, MCAST Main Campus Paola.  Please attach copy of accptance letter if sending cheque by post.

* Candidates who hold a teaching qualification and/or qualification in pedagogy and would like to enrol on this Master’s Degree will receive partial exemption from the first year and are only required to take the Postgraduate Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 at a fee of €1000 to then continue with the Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 and final dissertation towards the Master’s Degree.

**Since as per MCAST-MUT Collective Agreement 2018 para 18.3.1, a teaching qualification and/or qualification in pedagogy is obligatory for all grades to progress, MCAST full-time lecturers who do not have such a qualification are given the opportunity to follow the PG Cert (1^st Year of this Master’s Degree) free of charge.

Please click HERE to apply

Entry requirements:

In order to be eligible for admission to the below-mentioned courses candidates must meet the following entry requirements:

For:

• • • Postgraduate Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (MQF Level 7,             15 ECTS)

and

• • • Post Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (MQF Level 7,      45  ECTS)

Be a full-time academic member of staff at the Malta College of Arts, Science and technology

Or

Be a full-time academic member of staff in another vocational education institution

Or

Be in possession of a Bachelor’s Degree in the relevant subject area.

All applicants must be practising in the teaching profession in a Vocational Education entity for Further and/or Higher Education to a minimum of 4 hrs per week for the duration of the qualification.

All eligible candidates shall follow the Post Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 unless they are already in possession of another teaching qualification recognised by the board towards Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in which case such candidates will register for the Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0.

Candidates in possession of alternative qualifications will have their application validated by the admissions board.

For:

• • • Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (MQF Level 7,           90 ECTS)

 

Candidates must have successfully completed either of the following qualifications:

The MCAST Post Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (45 ECTS at Level 7)

Or

The MCAST Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (15 ECTS at Level 7) and the MCAST Graduate Teaching Certificate in Vocational Education and Training

Or

The MCAST Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (15 ECTS at Level 7) and the MCAST Postgraduate Certificate in Vocational Education and Training

Or

The MCAST Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (15 ECTS at Level 7) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education offered by the University of Malta

Or

The MCAST Award in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (15 ECTS at Level 7) and a Bachelor of Education offered by the University of Malta.

Candidates in possession of alternative comparable qualifications at Level 6 or higher and a minimum of 30 ECTS will have their application validated by the admission board but must be in any case in possession of the MCAST Award in Vocational Education (15 ECTS at Level 7).

For:

• • • Masters in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 (MQF Level 7, 120 ECTS)

 Candidates must have successfully completed the MCAST Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Education.

Other entry requirements:

Course description:

The 4th Industrial Revolution heralds a series of social, political, cultural and economic impacts that will unfold over the 21st century.  This calls the education community to action, to be among the key players of shaping the developments and growth in the educational curricula ensuring that our students will graduate into a world they can help shape with wisdom and skill.

The Master in Vocational Education Applied Research 4.0 is a proactive response shifting from the traditional education programmes to innovative practices linking teaching and action research based on the Scholarship of Teaching within the context of vocational education in Further and Higher Education.

Through blending team delivery, team learning with work experience, team assessment and action research the programme strives to address the underlying foundations for the 4th Industrial Revolution:  human communication, critical thinking and engagement with digital technologies.

Area specialization is given due consideration.  However, the design of 4.0 promotes a holistic approach to education where the traditional divisions between humanities and sciences is reduced through a collaborative and team approach of delivery and learning.  Participants coming from diverse sectors of work and disciplines go through their study journey as one cohort.  The innovative approach drives towards developing creativity, building arguments, critical thinking, learning to learn and problem-solving; skills and competences central and premium in this Vocational Education Applied Research Programme 4.0 aimed to ultimately increase the educational capacity for teaching and research.

Study course delivery:

Weekend Schools

Rationale:  The delivery strategy is through blended approaches of Team Teaching, Team Assessment and Collaborative Learning aiming to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment.

This delivery strategy provides tutors with ways of exhibiting different positions and perspectives within and across disciplines, inspiring new research ideas while building on a learner-centred strategy aiming to increase active and peer-to-peer learning.

 

Blended Approach:

 

• • • 6 Weekend Schools spread over 2 years

and

• • • Online Learning.

Assessment:

Weekend School Assignments

Rationale:

Assignment titles are thematic, designed to cover the discipline areas covered during weekend schools.

• • • Individual/group assignments
    • Six assignments
    • One assignment per weekend school of approximately 6,000 words

 

Teaching Practice Assessment

Rationale:

Teaching practice shall take a critical friend approach and is intended to continuously improve one’s practice, industry experience and professional growth through the guidance of an assigned mentor.

Teaching practice shall be assessed as follows:

• • • Portfolio
    • As an integrated component in the respective weekend-school assignment
    • Up to three observation visits per year.

 

Thesis

Thesis of 20,000 words in the final year.

Learning outcomes:

This Master’s Degree is awarded to learners who will demonstrate:

Learning Outcome 1:  A systematic understanding of knowledge and a critical awareness of the disciplinary-based perspectives of the field of education in general and Further and Higher Vocational Education.

 Learning Outcome 2:  A comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to the teaching profession within the context of Vocational, Further and Higher Education environment.

Learning Outcome 3:  An originality in the application of knowledge showing how established, researched and newly discovered techniques can be used to advance their knowledge and understanding, as well as further develop their teaching-learning skills to propose new innovative effective high level approaches reflecting the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Learning Outcome 4:  A conceptual understanding that enables the learner:

• • • To evaluate critically current education research and advanced studies on the scholarship of teaching and learning with special focus on the requirements of the emerging Vocational Education 4.0 ;
    • To evaluate and critique methodologies through grounded research cycles in vocational contexts;
    • To propose new hypothesis / models promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning

Programme Units

Unit Number	Unit Title	ECTS
Unit 1	The Reflective Professional: Creating Knowledge in Action	6
Unit 2	Educational Psychology 4.0:  Harnessing the Potential of All	6
Unit 3	Social Inclusion and Equity for the 4th Industrial Revolution	6
Unit 4	Teaching Learning and Assessment in Further and Higher Vocational Education	12
Unit 5	Engaging with Digital Education toward Industry 4.0	6
Unit 6	Teaching for Employability	6
Unit 7	Building Quality Teaching and Learning Supported by a Quality Management System	6
Unit 8	Area Specialisation Part 1	3
Unit 9	Area specialisation Part 2	3
Unit 10	Andragogy in Practice in a Work-Based Learning Context	3
Unit 11	Andragogy in Practice in an Industrial Context	3
Unit 12	The Contribution of a Dynamic Curriculum to the Process of Education	6
Unit 13	Fundamentals of Research for Innovation in Vocational Education 4.0	6
Unit 14	Policy and Practices in Education for the 21st Century	6
Unit 15	Mentoring the Self: Emotional and social Intelligence	3
Unit 16	Mentoring beyond the Classroom:  continuous and Professional Growth	3
Unit 17	Group Projections Work-Place Environment	6
	Thesis	30