iPro

This ePoster presentation is about a new European Commission funded project called iPro http://ipro-project.eu/ Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology www.iadt.ie are partners on iPro. The aim of the project is to build, test and then distribute a research based model framework that will assist the Education sector and especially VET and the Higher Education Institutions to match the curriculum of their students in (digital) Media and Arts Studies with the professional requirements expressed by the (international) community of media and arts businesses. This framework will demonstrate its effectiveness and quality in a series of pilots in the participating HEIs, as well as in other institutions that express their interest. Despite the obvious need to develop relevant and responsive human resources both within the traditional higher education framework and as part of open and continued educational structures, it is clear that much remains to be done to ensure closer interaction between the different suppliers of higher education and between those higher education institutions (HEIs) and their stakeholders, especially the businesses, and particular challenges were noted in ensuring effective dialogue with the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, which although often the most important regional employer is one of the least represented in the dialogue process. The privileged point of entry for these stakeholders is at regional level, and it can be assumed that if a HEI can manage successfully a dialogue at regional level, then improved communication between universities and stakeholders at national or even at international level may be expected. This is the perspective that we intend to take for this project that will focus particularly on one segment of higher and further education, namely Media and Arts Design Studies. The project aims at setting up a pilot collaboration between HEIs and partners in 8 European countries to investigate the potential for a closer collaboration between the world of the interactive media and arts design business and the higher and further education institutions for Media and Arts Design Studies. The collaboration will focus on detection of possible skills and competences mismatches between education and the professional world and will consequently put in place a pilot mechanism to address this mismatch by designing and piloting a curriculum design framework for use in this specific sector. After an analysis of the piloting phase the the results will be a framework that will assist all professionals working with media, whether this is with traditional arts and media or in so called 'new' or interactive arts and media. According to European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, the number of digital jobs is growing by 3% each year, the number of newly-qualified ICT workers is shrinking, leaving up to 700,000 unfilled vacancies in the E.U. This presentation will be of interest to attendees active in the interactive media and arts design business, SMEs, VET, further and Higher Education institutions.