The path from the music studies to the career is an interesting and amazing journey but, so often, it's also very tough. We know that every journey needs a map and we want to propose a new map that has a fundamental step: the self-leadership for a new employability. With NEWS in MAP project we are implementing the music academic curricula.The context for this project lies in the discrepancy between the skill sets required by the greater music career and the traditional education available at music departments of European Conservatories and Music departments of European Universities.The traditional education of these Institutions does not offer basic skill sets such as psychology, leadership, motivational strategies to increase performing, team building, business establishment, marketing, tournée/event design which are amongst the most important facets of new music careers. It is precisely these elements that are most often pre-requisite to the enhancement of employability in the greater music career. The objectives of the NEWS in MAP project are therefore directly derived from this present circumstance and are the following:1) To impart to students of set fields the basic skill sets mentioned above, 2) The transformation of this knowledge into real world applications, 3) The consciousness of women students potential in the music careers,3) The employment of students in small apprenticeships within the frame work of the project,4) The placement of students in real work situation through post project termination placement in existing music event (festivals, museums, small business, summer schools) internships,5) The development of practical abilities to allow the students to become, through self -leadership, self employed and to travel the path of entrepreneurship.Our methodology consists of the creation and implementation of a 14 week course and curricula that addresses all the above mentioned skill sets. Besides this, the theoretical portion of the course, the small apprenticeships in various subjects will supplement as the applied portion of the course. The synthesis of these two facets, the theoretical and the applied, will result in the real world experience of the internship.The expected results and impact of NEWS in MAP are multiple. We envision the following:1) A higher rate of employment of musicians in the work force,2) A higher rate of self employment in the fields of music, 3) The development of women's participation at the top of the music careers,4) The creation of a novel course and curricula, 5) An increase of desirability for the Conservatories and Universities that adopt this project course, 6) The expansion and development of teachers careers,7) The collection and publication of project course materials and its free dissemination, 8) The involvement of industry as an influence on and benefactor of this project,9) The involvement of a media complex ( internet, newspapers, magazines, visual and audio) in the implementation and dissemination of the project. The aforementioned expectations, in addition to representing realistic objectives, also act as long-term benefits.

<< Objectives >>The general objective of the project is increasing the number of students with Special Education needs enrolling in Higher Music Education Institutions (HMEIs). By the end of the project the partners will create a self-paced course for reinforcing the competencies of HMEI teachers and administrative staff in the field of Special Education, creating a new professional role aimed at monitoring on social inclusion practices and training process and create a community of inclusive HMEIs.<< Implementation >>Following the results of a detailed training need analysis, the partners will develop a training course for HMEI teachers, HMEI administrative staff, including the tutor specialized in SEN, to be first piloted within the partners' organization. After this first validation, the revised course will be delivered to the same target groups in other HMEIs. Thanks to the external feedback, the partners will revise the materials and develop an open and freely accessible self-paced course.<< Results >>By the end of the project, the partners will develop two e-learning courses (one for HMEI teachers and one for administrative staff/tutors), aimed at improving the learners skills and break down the barriers that limit the access to HMEIs to people with Special Education Needs. All the training materials will be freely and openly available on an e-learning platform in English and partners' languages. The partners will also create a community of practice around the project topic.

PRIhME (Power Relations in Higher Music Education) is a strategic partnership of 9 institutions who will examine the issue of power relations in the higher music education (HME) sector. It has come to light in recent decades that systemic power relations inequalities are embedded in most higher music education institutions (HMEIs). Some have been well documented in media coverage of criminal abuse cases involving leadership and faculty, and in student and staff surveys. At their extreme, such power abuses include discrimination, segregation, racism, bullying and violence. However, power relations in the music context are more nuanced and complex than those examples alone. Training professional musicians involves working with questions of, for example, musical repertoire, performance practice, interpretation and the position of musicians in the hierarchies of orchestras, conservatoires and opera houses. Instances of abuse and discrimination are enacted in and through various music-making practices and in teaching, and are related to how students and teachers perceive and pass on (unarticulated and therefore often unquestioned) musical traditions and discourses of interpretation. Even answering the question of what is good, worthwhile and meaningful music is a matter of power enactment.To address this systemic issue, the methodology PRIhME will use is the Citizens' Assembly model, based on common values, principles of equity and civic engagement. PRIhME’s 9 partners will put forward participants for a series of 'Stakeholders' Assemblies modelled on formats of deliberative democracy used in Ireland and the Netherlands. Led by an independent Chair, 50-member assemblies will examine the issue of power relations in HME. They will include HME students, faculty, administrators and arts professionals. 9 PRIhME partners were carefully selected to ensure diversity of experiences, insights and expertise. Special attention was given to their geographical spread, social and cultural background, expertise in social inclusion and civic engagement, as well as their experience in developing intellectual outputs such as critical publications. The lead partner, Royal Irish Academy of Music, comes from a country that has a strong background in citizens' assemblies. The AEC, as project manager of PRIhME, brings experience in running major EU-funded projects with dissemination tools that reach its 300 conservatoire members.The activities of PRIhME are concentrated around focused discussions in 4 in-person stakeholders' assemblies supported by 4 online meetings. The dissemination of outcomes beyond the individuals and institutions directly involved in these meetings is further ensured by establishing an open source digital platform for resource sharing, production of an academic publication (based on expert reports and assembly data with resolutions and policy documents for the HME sector), transnational training, teaching and learning activities for partners, multiplier events aimed at reaching the wider arts sector, as well as transnational project meetings to plan and implement the assemblies.The expected impact of PRIhME on participants and their organisations will be achieved by strenghtening the cooperation and networking between organisations around the issues of power relations, thus leading to the reduction in segregation and discrimination in HME for marginalised individuals and communities inspired by tools, publications and resources. PRIhME training and dissemination will contribute to the empowerment of music professionals with better understanding of intricacies of power relations thus preparing them to teach and administer while upholding equity, diversity and inclusion as key values and guiding principles. All of these impacts will as a consequence lead to more healthy and sustainable careers for both the stakeholders within HME and their graduates. The wider impact of PRIhME at local, regional, national, European and international levels lies in the transferability of the subject and methodology. PRIhME will raise awareness of power imbalances in HME, encouraging wider HE organisations to reflect on similar issues in their own structures. Deliberative democracy can be tested in PRIhME as a means for HE to address difficult topics, and HME can become a model for other sectors when addressing issues of segregation and discrimination, and upholding equity, diversity and inclusion.A key result of PRIhME is to give HMEIs a true understanding of the traditions and norms we perpetuate that can create power inequities. Based on this groundbreaking analysis, and supported sectoral advocacy and training, the longer term result of PRIhME will be a more diverse and socially integrated HME sector with increased levels of confidence and satisfaction in its stakeholders, offering the world more creative and socially engaged performing artists who were trained in healthy and sustainable communities of learning.