Social Networking within the Creative Technology Sector
December 3, 2007
The SPLICE project is a JISC-funded project which aims to connect learners and teachers in multimedia studies with practitioners in industry. The project is led by Bolton University, and other partners include Coleg Harlech WEA and the Greater Manchester Strategic Alliance. More information is available at
A group of learners, teachers, and practitioners met near Bangor in North Wales on November 22nd, at an event sponsored by ICT Forum Wales and Bloc. The evening was in two parts: an initial round table in which all attendees were able to discuss their own perspectives on the project, and a second session comprising three formal presentations. The round table session was a rare opportunity for a huge range of stakeholders to express their hopes and fears around the project. What came through for me was that despite the diversity of perspective, there was a strong common sense of direction. This arises from a common understanding of how the world is changing – that teachers can no longer keep students up to date, but that the learners must do this for themselves (with guidance from both teachers and practitioners). This also emerged later on in the presentations, where it became clear that the people already working in the multimedia industry were really well placed to guide students, as they are already using the new technologies in very creative and original ways. The SPLICE project is there to help these different groups to work together. It will be really interesting to see how this progresses.
