Podpora kreativity a kreatívneho myslenia v oblasti vzdelávania marketingovej komunikácie

The Faculty of Mass Media Communication (FMK) at UCM in Trnava is strategically aiming to become a leader in mass media and communication studies education. It achieves this goal through national and international partnerships that enable the exchange of experiences with experts, companies, and other educational institutions, as well as through the continuous innovation of study programs. Project E220 (CREA) was identified as a key tool for fully exploiting the faculty's potential and effectively linking academic know-how with practice. The main motivation for the project was the need for international exchange of experience with the aim of modernizing mass media studies education with a specific focus on the implementation of creative teaching. This approach is key to the development of the creative industry, which is also a priority for the European Commission. Given that FMK has long been concerned with the issue of integrating creativity into education and practice, the partnership with other institutions from the academic and practical spheres represented an ideal opportunity to meet these needs and deepen the innovative approach to teaching. The project seemed to be the best platform for connecting these needs.

The main objective of the CREA project was the effective international exchange of know-how and the modernization of university curricula with the aim of implementing creative teaching that directly reflects the current requirements of the labor market in the creative industry. The key task of the project was to create lasting synergy between the academic environment (teachers, students) and the practical sector (companies, advertising agencies). Based on this cooperation, we designed and piloted a new course primarily focused on developing creative competencies in both target groups. The specific objectives were successfully achieved through the following tangible outputs: creation of a methodological publication in four languages, launch of a multilingual website of the same name, provision of comprehensive training in creative skills for students and teachers, development of detailed guidelines for institutions to create their own courses focused on creative skills. These results ensure the long-term sustainability of an innovative approach to teaching at all partner institutions.

The CREA project was executed through a series of structured activities aimed at enhancing creative skills across partner universities. The process was coordinated via five international meetings used for setting rules, defining objectives, and continuous progress evaluation. The project had two main phases: Analytical Phase: Comprehensive surveys assessed the current state of creative teaching among faculty and students, alongside an analysis of real-world demands for creative competences from companies and advertising agencies. This provided a crucial overview of both academic readiness and market needs. Creative and Implementation Phase: The gathered data informed the development of a publication featuring 15 detailed creative methodologies. These guides are structured for direct application by teachers into existing subjects. They were pilot-tested with students to gather valuable feedback. Simultaneously, faculty training in creative didactics ensured the long-term integration of these innovative methods into the teaching process.

The project generated several creative and publicly accessible outputs that serve the public with the aim of implementing creativity into teaching. The outputs are a publication: A separate book entitled "Creativity and Creative Teaching in Marketing Communication." To ensure wide international availability, this publication was published in four languages: Slovak, Czech, Polish, and English. Project website: A specialized website serves as the central digital repository for the project. It contains an electronic version of creative guides and provides students with an interactive space to develop and share their own solutions. Like the publication, the website is fully functional in the four languages mentioned above. Methodological guide to curriculum development: A detailed guide focused on the effective development of a new university course for creative teaching. This document specifies the key competencies of an ideal teacher, contains a detailed breakdown of the subject into individual lessons, and proposes a system for the objective assessment of creativity. The implementation of structured assessment criteria eliminates the risk of subjectivity and ensures constructive feedback for students.