It became clear at the end of 2020 that MusiQuE reviews, initially planned in 2020 and postponed, would eventually need to be conducted online. For this purpose, MusiQuE produced a protocol for online procedures which has been tested at the end of March.

A MusiQuE Review Team is currently reviewing the Bachelor of Dance programme offered by the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp. The site-visit was conducted entirely online at the end of March, including the preparation of the Review Team in the preceding months. 

The site-visit schedule had been adapted to include more time for the Review Team itself to reflect on the past meetings and prepare the following ones, as well as more breaks. The conservatoire shared videos of classes recorded during 2020 in order to enable the reviewers to virtually visit lessons. However, due to a new lock-down in Belgium, the conservatoire had to close down and cancel the virtual tour of the facilities it had organised. 

The Review Team indicated after the visit that online reviews are exhausting but shared their appreciation of the schedule which was well spaced out and gave them proper time to get away from the screen. It might be beneficial to extend the time of some meetings in future. The institution also expressed its positive feedback about how the online meetings were conducted by the Review Team and especially about the appreciative approach of the reviewers.

In addition to this first online review procedure, MusiQuE has also organised the following visits in March and April:

  • An online site-visit of the Orpheus Institute, carried out by two international panels in the framework of an evaluation procedure commissioned by the Flemish Department for Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI) 
  • Five online Critical Friend visits at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
  • Two online Critical Friend visits at the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague.

Preparations are currently ongoing for reviews planned in 2021 at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague (the Netherlands), the College of Music, Mahidol University (Thailand) and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (United Kingdom). 

We would like to use this opportunity to thank all the MusiQuE reviewers involved in these procedures and who have been adapting to their new format, and to the institutions for their extensive preparation and continued trust.

Until better times when MusiQuE will be able to conduct on-site reviews again, MusiQuE stays committed and will continue delivering its services and support to music education institutions in Europe and beyond.