'Creative Minds Creative Futures'
LEAD ORGANISATION
PROJECT SUMMARY
In February 2009, the Faculty of Creativity and Culture at Bucks New University hosted a one day conference 'Creative Minds: Creative Futures'. This event was intended to give students a 'taster' of how creative talents could be turned into productive employment, to raise the profile of arts-based careers and the need for creative graduates, to raise awareness of undergraduate opportunities and to look at new ways of working with technologies. The event included presentations by some influential and inspirational professionals, including presentations from inventor Trevor Baylis and presenter and songwriter Tom Robinson, and a panel that included Nik Powell, Director of the National Film and Television School, Leslie Morris, Head of Design Skills at the Design Council and Yasmin Sidhwa, Head of Arts Education at Pegasus Theatre, Oxford.
Following the conference, a short promotional film was produced, encapsulating key messages and responses from the conference. The aim is to showcase work in the creative industries and the benefits of HE. It is now available online and for distribution to institutions.
IMPACT
Over 200 FE and HE students attended the conference. Of those who returned feedback, 90% rated the day as 'Excellent' or 'Good'. Most of the sessions had high rates of positive feedback, with Trevor Baylis' keynote talk and the various workshops receiving the highest ratings. The conference's audience appears to have been successfully targeted, with over 90% of delegates feeling that it had been relevant to them. Most respondents also agreed that they now felt more confident about finding a career in the creative industries.
One delegate commented that what had inspired them the most about the day was seeing "how people like me with a positive attitude and ambition can achieve anything".
Selected feedback from delegates:
"Great event; inspirational"
"Really well thought out"
"Trevor Baylis [is an] amazingly inspirational man"
LINK TO MORE INFORMATION