Internal Quality Evaluation
The DEAI programme ensures continuous quality monitoring and improvement through an internal evaluation system aligned with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). A Quality Management Committee (QMC), led by Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), oversees the quality assurance process. The committee includes representatives from all main partners, two students, one Local Administrative Manager, one lecturer, and one associated partner from the industry to highlight potential skills gaps.
The QMC meets twice a year and produces evaluation reports for discussion by the Executive Board. With the support of Local Coordination Offices, which handle local quality control, the QMC publishes internal evaluation reports that may lead to corrective actions.
A Quality Management Plan, developed and revised annually, defines the framework for evaluation, monitoring, and improvement. Students complete three types of anonymous questionnaires: one per course, one per semester, and one at programme completion, addressing teaching quality, learning objectives, course materials, workload, logistics, and overall experience. Additional questionnaires are distributed to partners, teachers, and associated stakeholders to support a self-evaluation of the entire programme.
Evaluation data are collected via a centralised platform accessible to all partners. The consortium also relies on a programme monitoring application, developed by ULB and used in previous Erasmus Mundus Masters, to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to academic excellence, innovation, employability, and internationalisation. The analysis of these indicators supports the identification of best practices and the implementation of improvements.
External Quality Evaluation
An External Evaluation Board (EEB) ensures an independent academic and administrative evaluation of the programme, in full compliance with the ESG standards. The EEB consists of external experts, alumni, guest scholars, and representatives from the CIVIS and ARQUS European University Alliances, with which several partners are affiliated.
The EEB conducts an external evaluation at the end of each intake. It reviews reports from the QMC, internal evaluations, and other relevant documents, and may conduct interviews with former students, employers, and consortium representatives. Its findings are compiled in an evaluation report, including good practices and recommendations for improvement, which is published on the DEAI website.
To ensure industry relevance, an Advisory Board (AB) — composed of industrial and public partners as well as alumni—analyses the curriculum and advises on updates that align with emerging needs in data engineering and artificial intelligence. The AB also promotes joint research, innovation, and collaboration between consortium partners and associated organisations.
Finally, all courses of the DEAI programme are part of nationally accredited degrees in computer science at each partner institution. Each partner’s academic and research activities are regularly evaluated by nationally recognised agencies that belong to the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), ensuring the high quality and integrity of the degrees awarded.