Het domein Creative Business heeft vanwege diverse ontwikkelingen binnen en buiten de opleidingen besloten om te starten met een beperkt experiment, waarin ervaring kan worden opgedaan met een andere vorm van samenwerking met het werkveld in het opleiden van de professional van de toekomst, met interdisciplinair samenwerken van studenten uit de verschillende opleidingen uit het domein, en met het vormgeven aan maatwerk in de opzet waarin interdisciplinair wordt samengewerkt. Het project is onder de titel ‘Creative Growth Initiative’ gelanceerd. Studenten werkten een semester lang samen met studenten uit andere opleidingen aan een complex vraagstuk dat door een werkveldpartner werd ingebracht. De studenten uit de verschillende opleidingen verbonden daar ook een persoonlijke opdracht aan die leidde tot een bijdrage aan het groepsproduct en dat waarborgde dat elke student ook een stap zette in de ontwikkeling van een professional met specifieke kenmerken. Het lectoraat Teaching, Learning & Technology werd gevraagd te adviseren bij het ontwerp en om de uitvoering en opbrengsten van het eerste prototype te evalueren.
When conducting research in and for the creative industries, there are a wealth of different possible research approaches that can be taken - reflecting the diverse nature of the disciplines (design, arts and crafts, advertising, architecture, fashion, film, music, TV, radio performing arts, publishing and interactive software) and academic contexts (art schools, business schools and universities) involved. The result is that there are variations in the emphasis and approach taken to how students are taught to link theory with practice, and how they view and engage with the concept ʻresearchʼ. The need for understanding and awareness of a range of approaches is critical for anyone learning about and working within design, business and the creative industries today.
The Academy for Leisure & Events has always been one of the frontrunners when it comes to the development, design and implementation of cultural tourism and creative industry business models as well as lifelong learning programmes.These programmes are attended by a variety of leisure and tourism professionals, including public authorities in leisure, culture and nature fields.The CULTURWB project addresses the need for strengthening the development of the cultural tourism industry.The experts from BUas together with the other project partners have utilised diverse research methodologies (marketing and branding, strategy business planning, digital tourism, sustainable development, strategy and action plan implementation, etc.) to develop and pilot a toolkit for Lifelong Learning courses in the field of cultural tourism and heritage. They have also designed and implemented a master’s programme in the WB countries and created an online platform for communication between stakeholders, industry leaders, managers, workforce, and academia.PartnersHochschule Heibronn, FH Joanneum Gesellschaft, World University Service - Österreichisches Komitee (WUS Austria), Dzemal Bijedic University of Mostar (UNMO), University of East Sarajevo (UES), The University of Banja Luka (UBL), University of NIS (UNI), University of Montenegro (UoM), Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures (SMOC), rovincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments (PZZZSK), Tourism Organisation of Kotor Municipality (TO Kotor)
In our increasingly global society, organizations face many opportunities in innovation, improved productivity and easy access to talent. At the same time, one of the greatest challenges, businesses experience nowadays, is the importance of social and/or human capital for their effectiveness and success (Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004; Mosley, 2007; Theurer et al., 2018; Tumasjan et al., 2020). High-quality employees are crucial to the competitive strength of an organization in the global economy, as these employees have a major influence on organizational reputation (Dowling at al., 2012). An important question is how, under these global circumstances, organizations and companies in the Netherlands can best be stimulated to attract and preserve social capital.Several studies have suggested the scarcity of talent and the crucial importance of gaining competitive advantage with recruitment communication to find the fit between personal and fundamental organizational characteristics and values for employees (Cable and Edwards, 2004; Bhatnagar and Srivastava, 2008; ManPower Group, 2014; European Communication Monitor (ECM), 2018). In order to become an employer of choice, organizations have to not only stand out from the crowd during the recruitment process but work on developing loyalty and a culture of trust in their relationship with employees (ECM, 2018). Employer Branding focuses on the process of promoting an organization, as the “employer of choice” to a desired target group, which an organization aims to attract and retain. This process encompasses building an identifiable and unique employer identity or, more specifically, “the promotion of a unique and attractive image” as an employer (Backhaus 2004, p. 117; Backhaus and Tikoo 2004, p. 502).One of the biggest challenges in the North of the Netherlands at the moment is the urgent need for qualified labor in the IT, energy and healthcare sectors and the excess supply of international graduates who are able to find a job in the North of the Netherlands (AWVN, 2019). Talent development, as part of the regional labor market and education policy, has been an important part of government programs and strategies in the region (VNO-NCW Noord, 2018). For instance, North Netherlands Alliance (SNN) signed a Northern Innovation Agenda for the 2014-2020 period. SNN encourages, facilitates and connects ambitions focused on the development of the Northern Netherlands. Also, the Social Economic council North Netherlands issued an advice on the labour market in the North Netherlands (SER Noord Nederland, 2017). Knowledge institutions also contribute through employability programs. Another example is the Regional Talent Agreement (Talent Akkoord) framework issued by the Groningen educational institutions, employers and employees’ organizations and regional authorities in which they jointly commit to recruiting, training, retaining and developing talent for the Northern labor market. Most of the hires with a maximum of five year of experience at companies are represented by millennials. To learn what values make an attractive brand for employees in the of the North of the Netherlands, we conducted a first study. When ranking the most important values of corporate culture which matter to young employees, they mention creative freedom, purposeful work, flexibility, work-life balance as well as personal development. Whereas attractive workplace and job security do not matter to such a degree. A positive work environment and a good relationship with colleagues are valued highly (Hein, 2019).To date, as far as we know, no other employer branding studies have been carried out for the North of the Netherlands. Further insight is needed into the role of employer branding as a powerful tool to retain talent in Northern industry in particular.The goal of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the regional industry in the Northern Netherlands and contribute to: 1) the scientific body of knowledge about whether and how employer branding can strengthen the attractiveness of a regional industry in the labor market; 2) the application of this knowledge and insights by companies and governments in local policy development in the North of the Netherlands.
This project covers multiple avenues of work on regional, national, and international policy discourse around the entertainment and creative (e.g. artistic) video game sector. Historically, policy makers have been wary of supporting the video game industry, but the diverse and modern video games industry deserves support and investment to build its presence in education, society, and business. Directing this support for the greatest impact requires informed decisions.This work continues the successful research of the Gaming Horizons project and its publications and activities.
