Creative Economy & Cultures of Production, Creativity & Cultural Labour, Digital Culture

Creative Higher Education and the impact of Covid-19

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Dr Roberta Comunian, Dr Tamsyn Dent and Dr Lauren England

Dr Roberta Comunian, Dr Tamsyn Dent and Dr Lauren England have launched this week a new website and research project – in collaboration with the H2020 funded project DISCE (Developing Inclusive and Sustainable Creative Economies). The project entitled ‘Creative Higher Education and the impact of Covid-19’ aims to collect reflections, experiences and perspective from academics and technical staff involved in teaching creative subjects at Higher Education level.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, most higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK and abroad have moved their teaching and work online and academics are now providing teaching support from home. However, while this is feasible for subjects where teaching tends to be lecture-base, the impact might be different for degrees where physical and material practice, equipment and spaces play a very important role in learning development and the acquisition of skills. The project will address the following questions:

  • What has been the impact of Covid-19 on your teaching practices?
  • What are the limitations/differences of online work in relation specifically to creative subjects?
  • What aspects of your teaching are not possible in the current social isolation/ home-learning context?
  • What new modes of engagement and opportunities have this crisis promoted?

The project calls for the involvement of academics and technical staff, that can participate in online discussions or undertake online interviews to feedback on the recent changes and challenges faced by the sector. To get involved, potential participants are asked to complete a brief online form and register.

The website includes a blog that will host opinion pieces and interventions on key topics. It includes already a reflection on the impact of Covid-19 on teaching practices and one on the potential financial uncertainty of creative higher education.

The research is only just started but it is hoped that project will collect important reflections on challenges and best practices within the sector that could potentially – with the input of colleagues across creative HE departments – develop into a special issue.

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