The CreO Project, a vision of the future

The CreO project, which aims to boost open innovation between creative industry Vocational Education and Training cycles and businesses in the traditional industry and technology sectors, is in its final stages. We would therefore like to let you know how the project has gone, and thank you for receiving it so warmly.

The response to the CreO project has been positive, and it has been warmly received in the 4 countries where it has been implemented. In each country, there were around 15 students, 5 teaching staff, and different business management or HR staff from different companies. With an international conference at Emilio Campuzano VET college in Atxuri (Bilbao), and several multiplier events in each country, the CreO project comes to a close on 31 January 2021. It has run throughout 2020, which has been the most difficult year for in-person activities.

Due to the restrictions imposed internationally due to the public health alert created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial numbers of students and staff authorised to attend the event in person have been reduced. This has obviously affected all project participants, who have had to adjust to the new normal, and holding work meetings differently. The pandemic has forced us to restructure much of the project, and to seek out new ways to interact. Even so, the CreO project has managed to unite the efforts of businesses and students to be able to deliver presentations and attend cultural industry activities (in-person or online), such as the Selected Bilbao event in 2019.

SELECTED is a two-day event which involves artists, creative minds, and designers from the creative industries. Over these two days, high-level conferences take place, and a space is established for reflection on different disciplines of design and creativity.

All materials developed and created for the CreO project can be accessed through Creo Moodle (http://creo.sc-celje.si/). An intuitive, user-friendly platform designed so that both teachers and businesses can implement the methodology created after the multiplier events and the international pilot which took place, and was well-received, in Bilbao in November 2019. The platform is highly user-friendly given its clear layout and the possibility of using different languages to adapt it and make all the information available in each participating country.

The students’ view

CreO students responded positively to the course and the modules created.  The majority of the content is quite new for the students and the businesses. However, thanks to the content being created with solid pedagogical foundations, the participants have quickly got to grips with the material, and have been able to understand the content of the modules, quickly, easily, and independently.

 

 

The CreO experience in businesses

To outline the experience of businesses, a brief summary should be made of the results obtained during the pilot project, taking into account:

• The importance of the practical content.
• The e-learning system’s level of interactivity, the way it is navigated, and the attractiveness of its design.
• Other relevant aspects identified in the analysis of all the comments, opinions etc. given by participants throughout the pilot test and its subsequent evaluation.

The majority of businesses and HR staff see using the modules posted on the platform, and introducing them within their own companies, as an advantage. For the moment, due to the COVID-19 issues, there has been no experience of the CreO project being implemented for real, but the testing has been positive.  However, in the medium-term, the majority of participants are rather optimistic and envisage being able to integrate people with creative backgrounds in the future. Nobody knows whether implementing this project will lead to a solution being found for the problems generated for businesses by the pandemic.

It has not been difficult having to explain the project content to businesses, or how to implement it, as the majority of participants have been able to learn the content of the modules intuitively. This may be seen as an advantage when it comes to looking at how the modules are constructed on the website: simple, concise, but full of fresh, easily-accessible content.
 
The CreO project ends on 31 January, and the conclusion that can be drawn from it is that, in spite of the pandemic, in spite of all the barriers erected by COVID-19 that make attending activities, meetings, networking, or events in person more difficult, collaborative working is possible. In terms of implementation, the path into traditional industry for students with a creative background, it is only a matter of time, as their potential and skills that are directly transferable to more industrial settings have been demonstrated.