This study presents the ongoing development of the Social Sciences of Sustainability umbrella platform at Jönköping University, which currently brings together three separate international masters’ programmes, a decision made by the School of Education and Communication. Our primary focus is one of them, the in itself interdisciplinary Learning, Digitalization and Sustainability (LeaDS) programme, which has its foundation in the field of education, but branches out into communication, leadership, digitalization, culture, diversity, and social sustainability. We outline the process of remediation from when the programme was first conceived in 2019 as a joint international partnership between universities in Mumbai, India, and in Jönköping, Sweden, towards the still international, but also sustainability-oriented and interdisciplinary platform that currently is being built at Jönköping University. The process has involved taking two steps forward and one step back for a number of reasons and, through an autoethnographic lens (Adams, Holman Jones & Ellis, 2015), this presentation aims to discuss the process of intercultural, interdisciplinary and interpersonal professional/academic learning that have taken place over the last few years. Why have some aspects, constellations and collaborations worked well and continued to be a part of the developing programme whereas others turned out less sustainable?

In the autumn of 2019, the first pilot course, Digitalization and Implementation Processes in School (DIP1) was launched followed by DIP2 in the spring. In the autumn 2020, both DIP1 and DIP2 were remediated in terms of design, in terms of level (as doctoral equivalents/third cycle courses are now offered as well), and with regard to how they fit into the structure of the upcoming programme LeaDS. The initial programme specific group (LeaDS), already interdisciplinary, was extended to include the competences represented in the other two masters’ programmes, Sustainable Communication (Media and Communication studies) and GlobalS (Global Studies). All partners have taken part in a shared process of remediation to integrate the umbrella platform idea. Issues growing out of the creation of joint courses, elective courses, as well as programme specific courses, revealed challenges and structural constraints. Another decision, not yet taken due to the pandemic, concerns whether teaching should be online/offline or a hybrid/hyflex, but this is also a reflection of how we as programme designers have collaborated during the process.

In order to map the various voices involved in the process outlined above, we are drawing on Smyth, MacNeill and Hartley’s (2016) conceptual matrix, which “suggests four key constructs to identify the key dimensions of the Digital University.” The model highlights digital participation, information literacy, curriculum and course design, as well as learning environment aspects. In addition, we rely on Trowler and Cooper’s (2002) concept teaching and learning regimes as we explore the instantiations, selections, negotiations and contestations, and with this a focus on power and agency (Deleuze & Guattari, 1986), involved in the remediation of teaching and learning environments. With this presentation we revisit our design process taking the matrix, teaching and learning regimes as analytical points of departure to illustrate our autoethnographical navigation around unforeseen challenges and obstacles.