CreaTeME’s first KRS Open: Student-driven success!
This week, CreaTeME held its first KRS Open – a two-day student conference founded on the principal ‘by Students, for Students.
The conference preceded the annual Kristiansand Roundtable Conference (KRC), where esteemed industry guests gather to discuss the most pressing topics in the field. The students had the privilege to observe, and gain unique insight from, this invite-only event. In turn, some of the industry practitioners from KRC were invited to contribute across the whole KRS Open event to discuss what the students identified as the most pressing topics of today.
The students had beforehand prepared in groups a short presentation on their chosen topics, focusing both on what is being done and on what can be done differently to bring about progress in the music industries. As such, KRS Open is an agent for change fueled by young diverse voices.
The unique format of KRS Open ensures that each voice is heard equally whether international guest or local student: The floor is permanently open and a ‘horseshoe’ seating removes the barriers between speakers and audience, mitigating the hierarchical structure of “expert panelist and silent audience”.
The students had chosen the following four topics for the 2023 conference: (1) Entrepreneurship in music; (2) Artificial Intelligence in Art; (3) The Live Music Industry; and (4) Music and the Environment. After presenting their topics and research, the invited guests responded, followed by a conversation and a “hive mind” session in which potential solutions were brainstormed.
KRS Open 2023 is a pilot for future student conferences, working towards CreaTeME’s overall aim of enriching education by developing innovative learning forms and environments with the highest academic standards and with close connection to a national and international network of academic institutions and music industry practicians. This year, students and teachers from UiA gathered with students and teachers from Berklee College of Music, Valencia, and Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, and the aim is to expand the collaborations and collaborators over the next years.
Photo by Daniel Nordgård, Sharmin Sultana Sumi og Ragnhild Brøvig
Written by Andy Inglis & Ragnhild Brøvig