Traditional Music Undergraduate Network in Europe

The TUNE Cooperation Partnership project has aimed to develop an innovative joint module (JM) based on virtual and blended mobility in traditional music undergraduate programmes. To achieve this, all partner HEIs have used an online platform and other digital tools, together with blended Intensive Weeks, embedding internationalisation, both at home and abroad. The project sought to embrace the locally rooted, aiming to introduce students and faculty to the diversity of European traditional musics, transmitting and exploring their own vernacular culture. All participants will continue to do so following the project’s completion. The project has addressed several needs of the partner HEIs, such as improving internationalisation strategies, undergraduate traditional music curricula, and the general need of strengthening traditional music education in the European HEI sector. The project has also addressed the need to develop students' digital skills and teachers' expertise in the use of digital tools, as well as the need to build intercultural competence among students and teachers, enhancing the students’ employability skills and their practical and theoretical knowledge about traditional music performance.

The main objectives have been: 1) PR1: To develop a joint undergraduate module, “European Traditional Musics Beyond Borders”, based on blended mobility. 2) PR2: To develop innovative digital educational content and technical structures for a sustainable online learning platform, “TUNE Online Platform for Learning, Teaching and Musical Exchange”, to be used during the virtual exchange portion of the JM. 3) To provide access to educational digital content, as well as live students’ performances produced during the project to the public, including underrepresented groups. 4) To foster intercultural competence through the lens of traditional music exchanges, raising awareness and understanding among students and stakeholders regarding awareness of cultural identity and cultural heritage in the European context. 5) To enhance music students’ employability by providing opportunities to build a European professional network, to gain performance experience and to develop digital skills. 6) As a supplement to 1), the project has aimed to further improve mobility between the partner HEIs by forming a community of traditional music students and faculty that engage in collaborations and exchange both within and beyond the scope of the project

All implemented activities contributed to achieving the planned project results–the development of a joint undergraduate module (see PR1) and a sustainable online learning platform with innovative digital educational content (see PR2). The project employed an exploratory approach towards the development of both project results. The core project activities were divided into five “test periods” of approximately one academic semester each, during which pedagogical approaches, e-learning tools, and online collaborative formats were developed, tested, evaluated and adapted, resulting in the improvement and honing of the overall pedagogical approach. Each of the five test periods provided the opportunity to test a version of the joint module, consisting of a virtual learning component facilitated through the online platform, an “Intensive Week” hosted by each partner HEI and student assessment. This continuous assessment led to improvements from one semester to the next, providing a better final conception of the joint module. In addition, a mapping exercise of existing Bachelor programmes in traditional music, as well as project multiplier events, were undertaken to extend the TUNE network following the completion of the project.

In addition to the two main project results, the joint undergraduate module “TUNE: Traditional Music Beyond Borders” (PR1) based on blended mobility and the “TUNE Online Platform for Learning, Teaching and Musical Exchange” (PR2), several smaller-scale outcomes were completed. These include: - A Cooperation Agreement for the establishment of the Joint Module, which gathers and specifies the objectives, procedures and management systems for the Joint Module. - The project website, providing access to tangible project results produced by teachers and learners, including recordings, videos, and educational resources produced during the project. - A long-term Joint Module (PR1) evaluation, using and adapting the AEC and MusiQuE tools and indicators as guidelines to assess the project results both during and after the project. - Research data produced through surveys and oral evaluation meetings during and after each JM “test period” to be analysed in a follow-up case study on the development of the joint module following the project period. - Content produced on the project’s social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and a YouTube channel, YouTUNE) - A mapping exercise of existing programs in traditional music at Bachelor level in Europe.