European Policy Statement of the Iceland Academy of the Arts

I

General
The Iceland Academy of the Arts (IAA) was established in 1998. It operates in five departments: Department of Fine Arts, Department of Design and Architecture, Department of Theatre and Dance, Department of Music and Department of Art Education. The Academy offers an array of undergraduate programs providing students with possibilities of comprehensive education, which will serve as a sound foundation, be it for further study at the university level or for working in the international art arena.
Special emphasis is put on introducing the student to recent developments in the arts and on preparing him for taking on life as an artist in an ever more international market. The courses offered are of wide variety, ranging from training in technical skills to theories in art philosophy, from gender politics to larger scale performances.

The main objectives of the Academy are:

• To become a centre of progressive artistic endeavours and a place for developing new ideas in the area of culture and society

• To promote inter-disciplinary art making and research, and to instigate and stimulate critical discourse about the pressing issues of contemporary art and culture

• Through instruction, to sharpen the students creative abilities and perception, broaden their scope of knowledge and understanding, provide practice in developing artistic techniques and skills

International co-operation
The Iceland Academy of the Arts has a high ratio of foreign students compared to university institutions in Iceland in general. The participation of foreign students is considered extremely valuable as they bring with them new customs and perspectives that enrich the learning environment and provide new standards to strive for.
The Academy has established bilateral agreements within the LLP Erasmus system with over 130 art academies and conservatories around Europe. This cooperation involves student, teacher and staff mobility. In each department, a number of lecturers come from abroad to teach for a longer or a shorter period of time and permanent engagements have been made in this regard with artists and scholars of international renown.
Participation in joint projects, which are likely to be of value for the European art community at large are of highest priority within the school. The school has participated in several intensive projects funded by either the EU or the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Since 2006, the IAA has supported its graduates in finding traineeships abroad through the Leonardo da Vinci placement programme. By supporting the recently graduated students in going abroad for further training, we feel that an important contribution is being made not only towards their personal skills and knowledge, but also towards the dialogue of art and design between Iceland and Europe.

Network participation
The IAA is an active partner in most of the important organizations that in one way or another are concerned with art education and strategy development of university institutions.

The Iceland Academy of the Arts is a full member of ELIA, the European League of Institutes of the Arts, which is an organization of about 320 art academies in 47 European countries. ELIA organizes conferences, publications and debates about art education among artists, teachers, administrators and students.

The Academy also takes part in Cumulus, a global association of approximately 140 design schools. The purpose of this network is to create a forum for educational institutions that offer programmes in the broad and diversified field of art and design disciplines. The IAA is a member of EAAE, which is an organization of more than 100 European schools of architecture. In the field of music, the IAA participates in the Nordic Council of Conservatories (ANMA) and is also a member of the Association of European Conservatories (AEC). The AEC is a European cultural and educational network representing the interests of the professional music training sector on national, European and international level.

Within Nordplus, a programme financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the IAA participates in the following thematic networks:

-KUNO network of 16 Nordic-Baltic fine art academies

-Cirrus network of 22 Nordic-Baltic design academies

-Sibelius/Espansiva network of 33 Nordic-Baltic music academies

-NorTeas network of 18 Nordic-Baltic theatre and dance academies

-Nordic Academy of Architecture network including 16 Nordic/Baltic schools of architecture

-EMD interdisciplinary network of 12 Nordic-Baltic dance and music academies

-DAMA interdisciplinary network of 6 Nordic-Baltic academies offering studies in new media and/or dance performance.

The purpose of these networks is to enhance exchange of students and teachers in numerous ways: through regular mobility, by organizing common seminars for teachers; by offering intensive projects and express courses for students, and most recently through joint programmes. In 2007, KUNO was voted the best practice model within Nordplus networks for higher education.

II

European Policy Objectives: In its European educational policy IAA includes the following objectives:

• to broaden and deepen the academic curricula through programmed cooperation with other universities
• to increase current numbers of incoming and outgoing student exchanges
• to increase the number of incoming and outgoing teacher exchanges
• to guarantee a European education for its students through exchanges with various European universities
• to increase the awareness among students and staff of the potential of a culturally diverse Europe
• to provide opportunity for students and staff to engage in dynamic partnerships across national borders and cultural divides
• to create a learning environment that is governed by equality and respect
• guest students from cooperating exchange schools are encouraged to take full part in exhibitions, performances or whatever public display there is within the school during their stay in Iceland.

Implementation of LLP Erasmus:
International exchange is an integral part of administration at all levels within the IAA. Each department establishes its priorities in this regard but a unified action plan is discussed and approved jointly by heads of departments and the rector of the school. A special office of international relations is given the responsibility to manage student and staff exchange and to further projects within the school that have cross-national partnership.

Exchange students are accepted on the basis of bilateral agreements and furthermore, selected on the basis of their level and available staff resources. Students who seek an exchange period at the academy must send in examples of their work and motivations letters. Permanent staff members of the respective department select the incoming students. Accepted students participate in courses and other programs within the school on the same basis as regular students. They are granted full credits for their work, and grades or other kind of assessment is awarded on the basis of their performance. Special attention is given to the importance of connecting the students with each other and to open their way to the various social activities that take place within the local student community.

Regular students of the IAA are encouraged to take a study period abroad. Important factor in promoting activities within the programme is to facilitate exchange of information and opinions between the visiting students and the regular students that either have just finished their periods abroad or are in the stage of planning such a stay. Introductory meetings are held in every department of the school ones or twice a year. In two courses at the Department of Theatre and Dance, an exchange period abroad is a mandatory part of the programme. Outgoing students at the undergraduate level are required to have completed at least 90 ECTS prior to the exchange. Plans for the exchange must be approved by the relevant study department.

III

Selection of students and staff: The IAA presently numbers about 460 degree seeking students. Competition for admittance is severe and applicants are selected on basis of merit, artistic talent and former education. Special committees of experts evaluate each application and select eligible candidates.

All permanent teaching and administrative positions at the IAA shall be advertised. Rules regarding academic appointments can be found in detail on the academy’s website. For teaching positions within the Academy all applicants shall have formal education at least equivalent to a masters degree and have behind a career in his/her research and/or in his/her art creation that can be considered outstanding. Hiring for permanent teaching positions is limited to three years at a time.

Final words:
For a small country like Iceland cultural exchange with other nations is of vital importance if its own culture is to develop and keep its identity. This is in particular evident in the fields of art education. Through living with people of other backgrounds and studying in schools where other attitudes prevail, totally new vistas of learning and understanding can be reached. The value of student and teacher exchange is indisputable and has proved to be of the greatest value. As a result, we have better educated and more open-minded students and faculty, our ties with our sister organizations in Europe have strengthened, and new influences have filtered through for the benefit of the cultural life as a whole.