DAAD - Potsdam conference 18th to 20th February 2019

Thanks very much to our HEA and to DAAD for the invitation to present at DAAD's recent conference in Babelsberg, Potsdam 'Higher Education Institutions of Art, Design and Music as future "European Universities"? Innovative cooperation formats and thematic bridges.'

I presented some of the background to IADT's DL832 Animation's 'Towards Professional Practice' module in the conference's 'Innovative Study Concepts II: Team-Oriented Work on Societal Challenges' session, expertly facilitated by Stefaan De Ruyck from the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp.

Great to meet colleagues from CIT, WIT and UL, as well as Ivan Skvrce and Danko Friscic from University of Zagreb, Academy of Fine Arts, Croatia.

The European Commission's Elena Tegovska did an excellent update on the Commission's latest calls and on their thinking for the next family of Erasmus initiatives (from 2021). European degrees, innovative curriculum, innovative pedagogies, digitisation, staff development (especially increased mobility and internationalisation) are thankfully all priorities for the Commission. In the Commission's plans, cooperation should lead to innovation which should lead to excellence, with more competitive European HEIs addresssing key societal challenges. Artistic research will have the same opportunities as STEM research under the new Erasmus programmes.

Excellent Open Space discussions on the final day. I participated in what became the 'University of The Unknown' group. Exciting stuff!