Content uploaded by Marina Matetskaya
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Marina Matetskaya on Oct 28, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Education and Creative Industries: how to overcome the gap. The case of St. Petersburg
Abstract
A new model of cultural policy is currently being developed in Russia, under which creative and cultural industries are becoming more involved in business. Traditional cultural institutions and new creative industries seek to gain stable income, which can only be provided by commercial activity. From this perspective, a study on art university students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship is highly topical.
The theoretical background of the study is based on competence theory, comprising components of entrepreneurial knowledge and experience, motivation, and business capabilities as well as the educational forms of acquiring these. The empirical part consists of an expert survey and a survey of more than 100 art university students that was organised by the Laboratory of the Economics of Culture.
The findings of the study enabled us to do the following:
determine the willingness of creative graduates to run their own businesses in creative industries (CI);
produce information about and understanding of the main features and difficulties of business activities in creative industries from students’ points of view;
analyse the entrepreneurial education provided at universities and other educational programs for creative start-ups;
identify current innovations in educational institutions to reduce the gap between CI needs and the low level of business training of graduates; and
discuss the main trends and objectives in designing educational models and other support measures for creative entrepreneurs in St. Petersburg.
... The majority of interviewees obtained higher education, which contributed to their professional identity, while also preparing them for careers in traditional Soviet-style cultural bureaucracy. According to Matetskaya et al. (2014), the students with higher education related to creative industries were not prepared to encounter the realities of the job market. Russian higher education in arts does not prepare the graduates for the job opportunities available in current creative work: the students have little understanding about the risks of creative work, and the educational institutions do not develop their entrepreneurial or networking skills. ...
Despite the increasing number of studies dedicated to creative professionals, there are still many topics that remain understudied. One such topic is the interconnection of professional labour and cultural institutions, which frame labour conditions. Furthermore, while much research has been devoted to the UK, other regions or global concerns have gained little attention. This article concerns creative professionals in post-Soviet Russia. It offers an overview of the field of cultural institutions in St. Petersburg in relation to the cultural administration and the professionals working for them. In particular, this study focuses on the public sector in Russian cultural production and the new non-state institutions founded by young entrepreneurs and activists, which have to struggle constantly for recognition and support from the city’s administration. Based on the fieldwork conducted in St. Petersburg between 2012 and 2015, the empirical study includes 26 in-depth interviews with cultural managers, employees of art centres, lofts, creative spaces, museums, and theatres. The research items highlighted here are concerned with the specificity of the newly established Russian institutional environment, framing creative labour in public and non-governmental cultural institutions. It discusses whether the post-socialist system presents a ‘luckier’ medium for a ‘good’ creative job than that of advanced capitalism.
... When briefly describing higher education in Russia, we should note that universities have a narrow focus in building their curriculums. In our previous publications, we noted the fact that business and management courses and programmes, especially in entrepreneurship, have not been offered at art universities (Matetskaya et al. 2014). Meanwhile, the latest research using the concept of knowledge transfer brings the new arguments (from the perspective of 'creative human capital' and shared research and innovation) that arts and humanities departments have a positive and rich impact on society and provide good value for money (Comunian 2015). ...
One of the key factors considered to influence the choice of entrepreneurship as a career is creativity. Entrepreneurship and innovative behaviour have long been associated with creativity, and recent literature suggests that creative individuals are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial activities. We investigate several programmes for creative entrepreneurs launched by creative organisations and “third spaces” to understand the key topics, competencies, and methods of education practiced during these courses. This effort is important because creative and cultural industries (CCI) need a workforce both trained and industry-ready for their development. As a result of this research, we propose recommendations for future entrepreneurial educational programmes at higher education institutions and creative centres.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.