Experiencing SPACE in Holland and furthering the DkIT network
30 March 2017Lecturers from the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at Dundalk Institute of Technology spent two days in March at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) for a series of meetings for the SPACE project, Strategic Partnership: Agents for Change in Education, in which students on the BA (Hons) Applied Music and BA (Hons) Production of Music and Audio are participants.
The meetings were hosted by Bernard Foing, Executive Director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) and Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1, the first European mission to the Moon. A rocket scientist, he was quick to point to the role of artists alongside artists in realising the work at ESTEC. Bernard’s opening presentation to us was entitled, ‘MoonMars Village: SciTech, Resources for Life, society and Arts’, which highlighted questions related to heritage and culture on future developments.
As part of an international team drawn from Belgium, Holland, Ireland, Norway and Portugal, the researchers from DkIT will bring their experiences of ESTEC and the SPACE programme to encourage, inspire and motivate children and students across Europe to take a greater interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics using all of the creativity offered and inspired by the Arts, while also recognising the importance in encouraging students to also continue to pursue Higher Education and Research in the Arts as a valuable contribution to mankind on earth and across the universe. In tandem with the SPACE project, students from DkIT will be involved in a Global Science Opera and help produce a number of intellectual outputs including a website and digital toolkit, the latter being hosted and developed by Dundalk Institute of Technology.
Plans are in place for a number of events in each of the partner countries over the next twenty-four months with staff and students continuing to share and collaborate on a variety of aspects of the project. This Erasmus+ funded project will provide a number of students in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music with opportunities for international travel and collaboration and will enhance their future career prospects.
For further information on programmes in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music see https://www.dkit.ie/creative-arts-media-music