Current Projects

AEC – Empowering Artists as Makers in Society (2022-2025) – Creative Europe Network

Higher Music Education (HME) graduates are the makers of tomorrow's musical life. Facing new challenges, such as dealing with the digital shift, climate change, the growing diversity of cultural and societal needs and a labour market under constant dynamic change, they will be tasked with promoting the resilience of artists, musicians and other cultural professionals.

Meet the AEC Capacity Building Working Group

Members

Martin PRCHAL, Royal Conservatoire The Hague, The Hague, The Netherlands (WG Co-chair)
Lies COLMAN, Royal Conservatoire The Hague, The Hague, The Netherlands (WG Co-chair)
Stefan HECKEL, University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, Austria
Natassa ECONOMIDOU, University of Nicosia, Music Department, Nicosia, Cyprus
Guadalupe LÓPEZ-ÍÑIGUEZ, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland
Lynsey CALLAGHAN, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, Ireland
Anna SHAPHIRA, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem, Israel
Ingfrid BREIE NYHUS, Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway
Celia DUFFY, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Guillermo RODRÍGUEZ, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Javier SORIANO, Pôle Aliénor, Poitiers, France
Linda MESSAS, AEC Office Team (WG Coordinator). Contact here.

Goals

Accompanying institutions in their processes of innovating Learning & Teaching
Revisiting institutions’ rationales, tasks and objectives

Updates

The Working Group functioned as a think tank, exploring the evolving roles, motivations, and objectives of Higher Music Education Institutions (HMEIs). Central to this inquiry were critical questions about the influence of new skills, attitudes, social awareness, and context-driven approaches, as well as fresh perspectives on excellence, quality, and societal engagement.

A pivotal approach for HMEIs to address these challenges is through innovative curriculum design. This involves reimagining curricula, institutional structures, and learning activities to align with the evolving identity of musicians as “makers in and of society.”

To support institutions navigating this transformation, the Working Group:

1/ curated a rich collection of insights, reflections, and case studies and produced the publication Innovating Curricula – Building Capacity for Innovation in Higher Music Education Institutions

2/ provided concrete guidance to 25 institutions through the ARTEMIS Clusters (2023-2024)

Based on a call for interest in 2022, the Working Group formed five clusters, each consisting of 5 – 6 European higher music education institutions that were engaging in a process of curricular change.
In two years, Working Group members facilitated peer learning platforms, in which all participants regularly shared the development of their respective curriculum change processes and provided peer feedback to each other. At the start, all participants were tasked to develop an Action Plan for their curriculum change based on a template provided by the Working Group.