The Laboratory of Innovation and Creativity project has created a partnership consisting of three schools and two companies: o Raahen koulutuskuntayhtymä/Lybecker Institute of Crafts and Design Raahe, Finland o Michael - Secondary School and Higher Vocational School of Advertising and Art Creation, s.r.o. (Ltd.), Prague, Czech Republic, o Private School of Art Film Industry, Košice, Slovak Republic, o Datacomp, s.r.o. (Ltd.), Košice, Slovak Republic, o Auvid media, s.r.o. (Ltd.), Košice, Slovak Republic. The private school of art film industry, Slovakia, introduces the initiative to create a new field of study "visual effects and game design" for higher vocational study as a three-year qualification study completed with a final examination with the academic title of diploma specialist - Dis. Thus, we respond to the market needs arising from the dynamically developing digital revolution. The target group is 18-year-old graduates with a high school diploma who want to expand their education in the field of visual effects and game design. Of course, we also include here employers who have long lacked specialists in the IT sphere of visual graphics, game design. Michael - Secondary School and Higher Vocational School of Advertising and Artistic Creation, s.r.o., Prague, Czech Republic also wants to provide education in this field of study. A field of study with this curriculum content is already successfully taught at the Finnish partner school. The transfer of innovations will take place under the guidance of experienced specialists and teachers. Another intellectual output of the project is a modern web portal/application of the " White book used as ECVET learning units for art schools". The target group here is pupils and students of art schools participating in mobility within the program Erasmus +. We assume that our web-White book will serve all art schools in the EU because all schools specialized in this field of study have a common artistic basis and that is art preparation, figure drawing, history of art, photography. The portal / application will be an open tool and its usefulness gives it the prerequisites for sustainability. Both main activities of the project we want to at partially test in practice during the two-week international educational activities of pupils, teachers, IT specialists and practitioners, which will take place in the partner schools in Prague and Raahe. Both intellectual outputs will be available to candidates on the platform: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/. The main activities and outputs of the project will be presented at the final "Lab IT conference". It is planned to take place during a major IT show, which is an event attended by representatives of the world's IT giants and the most sophisticated technological innovations. The IT show offers many competitions, gaming, youtubers and playing the most popular games on the most powerful gaming machines. The event is traditionally held in the OC Optima shopping center, where the company DATACOMP - project partner, also has its own conference facilities https://www.steamfactory.sk/. This framework is very attractive to the main target group of the 'Lab IT Conference', which is secondary school students and graduates, teachers and educational staff, IT specialists and the general public. Other dissemination activities include, for example: reports on the national television RTVS, reports on regional televisions: TV Region, Kechnec TV, TV Košice:Dnes, Moldavská TV, press releases, articles in Košice: Dnes, advertising spot broadcast on LED screen in Watsonova street in Košice, workshops or internet presentations. By addressing the main target groups of the project, which are students, teachers, the professional public, employers in IT as well as in the audiovisual field and by implementing the project we want to meet sectoral priorities. Our sectoral priorities are as follows: developing partnerships supporting creation and implementation of the strategy for internationalization of providers of vocational education and preparation and the introduction of innovative approaches and digital technologies in education. The Laboratory of Innovation and Creativity project will offer new opportunities to students, teachers and specialists involved, as well as for the partner schools, the companies and the applicant, which is Private School of Art Film Industry, itself. As a result, the school will continue to fulfill its conceptual development plan, raise awareness of the EU support for project implementation, internationalize the partner organizations involved, and last but not least it will continue to promote the region in which it operates within a wider national and also European reach.
By implementing the project, we wanted to create a modern and useful tool - a web portal with clearly grouped learning units in artistic areas together with an evaluation methodology. It is a live and open virtual space accessible to all art schools in the EU. On the web portal, educators of art schools and as well as the students will find inspiration for vocational artistic practice during their studies, but also for Erasmus+ mobility. Another goal was to prepare a new field of study "'Visual Effects and Game Design' " for higher professional studies, including a framework curriculum, general curricula and the school educational programme. This field of study captures the dynamics of the times and moves art education forward. We also wanted to gain experience at the international level in professional audiovisual and multimedia teaching during short-term exchange educational activities in partner schools in Prague and Finland. Also, we wanted to contribute to the increase of intercultural awareness and multiculturalism through art. Of course, with the successful implementation of the project, we wanted to increase public interest in the school as an open educational institution with an international dimension.
Private School of Film Art Industry, with 20 years of activity in Slovakia, which focuses comprehensively on audiovisual production, had to respond to the needs of the market, which are dynamically changing as a result of the digital revolution. Virtual reality is a common part of audiovisual production, visual effects rule the film, and digital games, along with the Internet, belong to the most dynamically developing group of so-called new media and best demonstrate current technological developments in computer graphics, digital animation and artificial intelligence. As of September 1,2020, post-secondary studies qualification studies were cancelled in art education in Slovakia as part of legislative changes. The response to the above was the request to prepare a new field of study visual effects and game design for higher professional education, completed by a graduation exam with the title of DiS (diploma specialist). On the basis of previous cooperation, experience and knowledge of the requirements for graduates, we found a concurrence in the units of educational outcomes in the art schools with which we cooperate, and these are Final Practical Art Works, with which graduates complete individual years, and also various types of exercises. Thus, the idea arose to develop the so-called White Book of learning units, which would include exercises and Final Practical Art Works to cover the progress and development of learning during mobilities.