Future Proof: New Learning in the Creative and Cultural Industries

Future Proof reports on an event sponsored by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Art, Design, Media Subject Centre bringing together representatives from the Sector Skills Councils most related to the creative and cultural industries into closer contact with creative arts, design and media higher education departments (i.e. Creative and Cultural Skills, Skillfast-UK and Skillset) with a range of higher education stakeholders including Centres of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Lifelong Learning Networks. Key sector agencies including the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design and various subject associations, Universities UK (UUK) and GuildHE, together with representatives from the government Department of Culture Media and Sport and Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. Participants in Future Proof are involved in strategic and operational planning and implementation within their agencies and organisations. They are positioned to understand their context and the wider issues that will drive or act as barriers to effective initiatives. Discussions at Future Proof explored the issues and formulated strategies and actions that can be further developed and shaped to have positive effects on educational and work-based contexts. The primary aim was to formulate ways in which these agencies and institutions could rise to the challenge of delivering relevant, appropriate and authentic learning to those already working in our creative and cultural industries and, in particular, to do this within our existing, highly-valued qualifications framework.