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The 'Polifonia' project
'Polifonia' is the largest project on higher music education to date. It started in 2004 and studied various subjects related to professional music training in Europe. In 2011 a third 3-year project cycle for the period from 2011-2014 was approved by the European Commission.
This cycle is jointly co-ordinated by the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag and the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC) and involves 55 organisations in professional music training and the music profession in 26 European countries and 4 countries outside Europe.
The project has 5 developmental working groups which will tackle the following subjects and have the following objectives:
1. Curriculum Reform: assessment and standards
Europe-wide survey of existing assessment methods and procedures in HME
Benchmarking exercise to strengthen shared understanding of standardsinHME
Training seminars leading to European register of External Examiners in HME
2. Curriculum Reform: artistic research in Higher Music Education
Establishment of a European Platform for Artistic Research in Music
Study of the content of 2nd cycle HME programmes as routes to artistic
Doctorates
European register of peer reviewers for artistic research in music
3. Governance: accreditation and benchmarking
Institutional and programme reviews in HME
Feasibility study for European-level accreditation agency for HME
Development of international benchmarking system for HME
4. Lifelong Learning: educating for entrepreneurship
Good practice on cooperation between HME institutions and profession on LLL
Handbook on entrepreneurship in and after HME
European conference “The Working Musician”
5. Mobility: recognition, monitoring and joint degrees
Recognition of assessment results gained by HME students during exchanges
'Impartiality circles’ to facilitate reciprocal External Examining arrangements in
HME
Mobility issues in European joint degree programmes in HME
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Previous 'Polifonia' cycles
The first 3-year cycle of the ERASMUS Network for Music "Polifonia" was conducted from 2004 - 2007 and jointly coordinated by the Malmö Academy of Music - Lund University and the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC). It had the following objectives:
- To study issues connected to the Bologna Declaration Process, such as the development of learning outcomes for 1st (Bachelor), 2nd (Master) and 3rd cycle studies through the "Tuning" methodology, the use of credit point systems, curriculum development, mobility of students and teachers, and internal quality assurance in the field of music in higher education.
- To collect information on levels in music education other than the 1st and the 2nd study cycles, in particular pre-college training and 3rd cycle (Doctorate/PhD) studies in the field of music.
- To explore international trends and changes in the music profession and their implications for professional music training.
Five international expert groups were active to meet these objectives:
To learn more about the work of these groups, please click on the working group of your choice.
The first cycle of "Polifonia" was designated as a ERASMUS success story by the European Commission in May 2007.
The project outcomes were presented at congresses and seminars, in newsletters and (online) publications. Feedback was gathered throughout the project from an external stakeholders group, music institutions, music students and music professionals through questionnaires, interviews and site visits.
"Polifonia" participated in the European Archipelago of Humanistic Thematic Networks. This broad Network of Networks aimed to establish links and collaboration between the separate "humanistic" disciplines. More information can be found on the Archipelago website.
To build on the successful first cycle of 'Polifonia', a second 3-year project cycle for the period from 2007 - 2010 was approved by the European Commission in September 2007. This cycle was coordinated jointly by the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC). The partnership in "Polifonia" involved more than 60 organisations in professional music training and the music profession in 30 European countries.
The following three project strands were part of the new cycle:
- The "Bologna" strand continued the work on various issues related to the "Bologna Declaration", such as curriculum development and design, internal and external quality assurance and accreditation.
- The "Lisbon" strand was concerned with continuing professional development for conservatoire management and the further investigation of instrumental/vocal teacher training. In addition, the dialogue between higher music education and the music profession was addressed.
- The "Research" Strand aimed at studying the role of research in conservatoires, as well as setting up continuing professional development activities for conservatoire teachers.
With the aim to study these issues the following experts working groups were established:
In addition, an External Stakeholders group composed of representatives of professional music organisations was been set up to accompany the project with its expertise and reflect on the relevance of 'Polifonia' activities and outcomes for the music profession.
To learn more about the work of these groups, please click on the working group of your choice.
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