Final Valorisation - Description

544108-TEMPUS-RS-2013-TEMPUS-JPHES

Development of higher education and society by creating a collaborative environment in the field of arts and media through regional student partnership in the production of audio/video content.

Acronym: StudAVP ( Student Audio Video Production)

This project primarily targeted students of media and art studies and their need to participate in professional production and also to present their work to the public, tending to influence society more.

StudAVP project went through very intensive three years of implementation. In general:

• In the first year the students from PC produced audio/video works based on propositions of announced Open Call 2014. Student production teams were created from different PC institutions, working on one project.

• In the second year, our media partners defined the Open Call 2015 requests for projects according to their programme needs. TV professionals selected and mentored the students in ‘real’ production. Students were demanded to act, create and behave like professionals. They learned to work and cooperate in professional environment, gaining valuable experience.

• The third year ’s main objective was to establish and develop a long lasting Internet platform for future cooperation. Also, in Open Call 2016 one student’s proposal was selected for production.

Students often create quality work but they are not able to show and promote it through relevant public media. During their study, they practice in media companies only occasionally. “Practice is different from the theory”, this is the main conclusion when they get in the position to work in the media.

This project was designed in a way to improve students’ connection to “real life” - practice in professional media environment, mainly television and radio. As a result of this improvement the educational process was changing, it is becoming more functional and usable.

The project has established new ways of communication and possibilities for young students and alumni, to help them learn and gain more practical experience and present themselves and their work to media companies as their potential future employers.

Our media partners were actively involved in the project implementation, not just as a public dissemination channel but as the seeker of TV programmes as well. They posted for students the Open Call for specific TV programmes, and then TV professionals made selection and worked as mentors with the students on the development of the production.

An important goal of this project was regional cooperation. How to connect students and institutions of the Western Balkan region, which was politically so stressful in the recent history? How to regain confidence and to start new cooperation? How to work and create artistic values together? Many questions, doubts and fears.

But, we were very successful! All partners, students, professors did their best to participate and contribute to the project implementation. We learned about each other and from each other. We made artistic works together. We developed professional relationships that will produce new projects and cooperation. It was very rewarding to see students from Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina making films together, which have been broadcast over public TV media in all three partner countries.

We developed a specific Internet web portal “MyArtVision.net” to become the central point of any future cooperation of the students of arts and media. Students and all interested parties can present their works, look for jobs in media, look for production cooperates, watch and listen to video and audio content and contact respectable professors in the domain of art and media in the region. “Virtual Art University” module is the next step in developing the free area of art education, with on line mentorship program.

The achieved results are:

• Institutional cooperation trough the production of students’ works - Three Open Calls organized and 340 students’ applications arrived. 30 audio-video works produced, which is close to 10 hours of programme. 500 students were involved in the production, which took place in 3 countries and 9 cities in the WB region. Students’ mobility involved, for the purpose of practical placement, workshops and study visit, in total 103 students, who spent 615 days in mobility. 

• Cooperation in the future – Agreements and contracts on cooperation signed among academic partners or media enterprises and academic partners will continue to be valid after the course of the project, with broadened cooperation in terms of student mobility and students’ professional involvement and the visibility of their work.

• Cooperation between media institutions and academic partners - Most of our media partners were open and willing to participate even beyond requirements set in Partners Agreement. Seminars and workshops in the media institutions were organized frequently especially if international students’ mobility was involved. All media partners opened media time for students’ works. They broadcast (even over the satellite) all works produced during the project implementation. They requested from students a specific programme in Open Call 2015, professionals selected the best proposals and mentored students’ production. Also, some media partners helped in the production with their own production resources.

• Connecting WB universities with EU cooperators – EU partners (UL -Slovenia; VSMU - Slovakia; NATFA - Bulgaria) were constantly supervising project’s activities and actively participating. NATFA and UL organized very successful workshops for all PC HEI students and professors. VSMU students participated in Open Call 2015 with proposals. One of them was selected for production.

• Dissemination of the project results – This is one of the strong points of the project. The project was presented to the public trough media partners (Radio and TV), which followed the project activities during the three years. Radio television of Serbia produced a serial of 5 episodes named “Connect”, following the project activities. Also, film festivals were the possibility to promote the quality works as well as ideas behind the project. One of the most acceptable and rewarded films of StudAVP production is “If I had it my way I would never leave” about two refugees on their way to EU. The project also used the Internet web sites, social networks and print media to disseminate and promote the results. Three DVD compilations of student works were produced. Dissemination was done by organizing study visits, workshops and trainings in different institutions, through correspondence with other cultural organizations regarding possible cooperation etc.

• Web Portal and Smartphone application developed – The objectives of the project will continue to develop through the web portal and smart phone application. The Internet web portal http://www.myartvision.net is the central point of communication between students of art and media in the region (and beyond), helping them to make connections and establish cooperation. This platform consists of several modules like “Portfolios & Projects”, “Jobs in media”, production crew searching, “Virtual University”, “Radio and TV media player” and more. This web platform is expected to be the most efficient form of the project sustainability.Besides the web platform, Facebook and Twitter social network accounts were established and maintained. Along with the Internet platform “myartvision.net”, a smartphone application was developed with the same functionality as the web platform. The idea was to offer the students (and others) a most approachable platform for constant and efficient use.

• “Online mentorship programme” tested – Mentors (professors and media professionals) cooperated with students from the region, whom they do not know personally. They were using different Internet channels of communication in developing the specific aspects of the students’ proposal, like script developing or defining the creative aspect of the production.This is a very unusual situation in art and media education but it proved to be possible and productive. The feedback from students and mentors was very positive. This programme is part of the “Virtual University” module (in development) of the web portal myartvision.net.

• Influence on curriculum and training activities – Even though the project was not aimed at changes in the curricula or defining new study courses or restructuring programmes, some changes related to the educational process have occurred. Students’ effort during their participation in the project was officially recognized and credited by ECTS in all PC HEI. In some institutions (UT-Albania), a new course of Computer Multimedia was developed; in VISER-Serbia and UAMD-Albania new training practices were introduced. Also, students’ professional training has greatly improved due to the new equipment that improved technical capabilities in all PC HEI.

• Study about the social importance of student production in WB region – The project has issued the publication “ON STUDENT AND UNIVERSITY BROADCASTING”, which consists of abstracts by relevant professors and media professionals on students’ production of radio-television content. The goal was to consider the issues of independent regulatory bodies, decentralization of state media and legislative regulation pertaining to advertising.