21 February, 2022

The Hincks Centre were delighted to host the New Skills for New Artists (NS4NA) Multiplier event which took place online, Thursday, February 17, 2022. Colleagues and partners from Ireland and Spain presented and shared the Erasmus+ KA2 funded project origin, pedagogical approaches, outputs, feedback and manuals during the event. Led by Dr Niall O’Leary, Research Fellow with the Hincks Centre, the event discussed the intellectual outputs from the project with a wider audience. 62 individuals registered for the event and 37 attended on the day.

 

 

Dr Ciara Glasheen-Artem, the newly appointed Head of MTU Cork School of Music (CSM) opened the Multiplier event. Ciara highlighted that there are approximately 470 fulltime, undergraduate and Masters students enrolled over 8 programmes in CSM and it is also the biggest music and drama conservatoire in Ireland. Ciara also highlighted the many events and courses available in CSM and the need to produce highly skilled, industry-ready graduates that can face the challenges that come their way. Ciara believes it is our responsibility, at third level, to provide "real-world, tailored skills to ensure students succeed" and that the New Skills for New Artists training programme addresses the many challenges faced by Artists in terms of the need for financial, technological, entrepreneurial and business success, complimenting the artists’ creative successes.

 

 

Dr Niall O’Leary introduced the session with an outline to the origin of the project and the gaps that needed addressing through the content selection. Niall delivered the Entrepreneurship training module for NS4NA and spoke about the goals and the various tools, scientific and research approaches used to deliver the entrepreneurship content. The results from each of the two pilots were outlined as well as the constructive feedback received from attendees during both pilots.

Kieran Prendergast and Dr Cárthach Ó Nuanáin from MTU Cork School of Music, delivered the Music Technology module for the training. In particular, they spoke about the importance of audio, audio-visual, lighting, hardware and software for artists and their practical use.

 

 

Víctor Moreno from Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, Spain led the Digital Marketing content for the course. Victor set out to introduce participants to the main concepts of digital marketing, tools, branding and strategy being mindful that this may be the participants first experience developing and learning skills in this area. The Digital Marketing module provided learners with a foundation on which to build this type of knowledge.

Ciara Finnerty, a participant of the NS4NA training course was up next. Ciara spoke about her positive experience during the course. She Highlighted that knowledge she acquired during the course has been applied since and that the course gave her more confidence in herself and her abilities. Ciara particularly highlighted the benefits of the hands-on learning with the technical equipment as well as being able to access the one-to-one advice and guidance when needed.

 

 

Rebecca Robinson, Researcher with the Hincks Centre, spoke about the Digital Badge for Entrepreneurship for Creative Industries now being offered to learners in this sector as a result of the NS4NA project. It was developed with the aim to continue knowledge transfer in the area of entrepreneurship for creatives post project. To support this training, a Train the Trainer Digital Badge has been designed for entry level entrepreneurship educators. This training is not only for educators delivering entrepreneurship training in the Arts but for all entry level entrepreneurship educators in all industries. An expression of interest form for this training was offered during the event where several participants signed up to receive further information.

The event closed with a discussion on industry engagement, the challenge of online classes and practice work, and the different needs of artists from the varying music backgrounds.

 

A full recording of the event, further information about the NS4NA project, including course guidelines, slides and the Expression of Interest form for the Train the Trainer digital badge, is available in the European Projects section of our website or by clicking here.

 

NS4NA is an Erasmus+ KA2 Funded Project