Expertise on the future, education, digitization, culture and innovation at the eighth edition of the Digital Skills for Culture & Creative Industries Workshop

Hundreds of participants from the country and abroad, from the academic environment, from innovation, but also from the field creative industries gathered on Friday, December 8, 2023, at the eighth edition of the international Digital Skills for Culture & Creative Industries Workshop/ Digital Skills for Culture & Creative Industries Workshop. National and international specialists (from the USA, Austria, Holland, Norway, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Romania), students and experts, demonstrated through practical examples, the impact that digital skills can have in culture, creative industries , education and how they can drive innovation.

The Politehnica University of Timișoara hosted on Friday the eighth edition of the workshop digital skills in culture and creative industries/ Digital Skills for Culture & Creative Industries Workshop – a key event of the international collaboration of the Politehnica Timișoara University with actors from the technical, digital and cultural environment, being integrated within the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara cultural project. In collaboration with the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education, the Multimedia Center, the Alliance of European Universities E³UDRES², the National Museum of Banat, the EBSI-NE Project and IEEE Romania, the workshop represented a real opportunity for participants to exchange ideas and present the latest innovations from the digital world.

The participants, including specialists from the USA, Austria, Holland, Norway, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Romania, together with students, dedicated themselves to the presentation and debate of some topics of vital importance for today's digital industry. The event took place both physically, in the Conference Center of the Politehnica Timișoara University, with 50 participants, and online, being transmitted simultaneously on the Zoom and Facebook platforms, where more than 750 people were present.

Exploring digital skills in the cultural and creative field

The theme of the event was Digital Skills for Culture & Creative Industries Workshop, integrated into Spotlight Heritage Timișoara, the event being divided into two essential components.

The first part consisted of a public EBSI-NE demystification seminar where the expansion of EBSI nodes and the Digital Europe Program (DEP) were discussed, highlighting the support provided by the vital European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). The following presentations took place in this part:

- Univ. Prof. Dr. Eng. Radu Vasiu & Dr. Eng. Diana Andone, Timișoara Polytechnic University, Dr. Carmen Holotescu, "Ioan Slavici" University Timișoara - EBSI-NE: European Blockchain Service Infrastructure – Expanding Nodes. Project overview and role of UPT / ENSI-NE: European Blockchain Services Infrastructure – Nodes Expansion. Project overview and UPT roles
- Cosmin Cioranu, UEFISCDI – EBSI-NE: Support services and competence centers / EBSI-NE: Support services and Competences Centers
- Lecturer Dr. Eng. Andrei Ternauciuc, Dr. Ing. Victor Holotescu, Polytechnic University of Timisoara - How Verifiable Credentials on EBSI enhance Education and Digital Skills / How Verifiable Credentials on EBSI enhance Education and Digital Skills

Lluís Alfons Ariño Martín, Universitat Rovira I Virgili, Spain (online) – Update on EBSI clusters for education and other sectors / Update on EBSI clusters for education, and other sectors

Dr. Ing. Victor Holotescu, Polytechnic University of Timisoara - Collection of the Spotlight Heritage Timisoara NFTs / Collection of the Spotlight Heritage Timisoara NFTs

In the second part, attention turned to Digital Skills for Culture and Creative Industries. This section brought to the fore key players from the field of culture, education, innovation and creative industries, providing a platform for collaboration and dialogue, essential for the continued evolution of this field.

Univ. Prof. Dr. Eng. Radu Vasiu, Polytechnic University of Timisoara - The involvement of E3UGLY2 in the development of digital skills / Involvement of E3UGLY2 in the development of digital skills

- Prof. Dr. Eng. Cristian-Győző Haba, Technical University "Gh. Asachi" Iași (online) - IEEE Education in Romania / IEEE Education in Romania

Dr. Ing. Diana Andone, Polytechnic University of Timisoara - Using Generative Artificial intelligence for education and creative industries. / Generative Artificial Intelligence for Education and Creative Industries.

Prof. Rune Andersen, University of Agder, Norway – Academic eSports – education for the workforce of tomorrow

Ass.-Prof. Chiara Zuani, University of Graz, Austria (online) – Digital Competences in Museums: from engagement to sustainability / Digital Competences in Museums: from engagement to sustainability

Arnold Pears, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden (online) – Generative artificial intelligence skills for future professionals / Generative AI skills for future professionals

Prof. Markus Seidl, Fachhochschule St. Pölten GmbH, Austria (online) – Digital Culture / Digital culture

Sarah Bosch, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands (online) – Media & learning: Digital competence and the use of innovative learning methods in higher education / Media & learning: Digital competence and the use of innovative learning methods in higher education

Dimitra Vinatsella, University of Piraeus, Greece (online) – Open Digital Competences for Education – the Online Courses / Open Digital Competences for Education – the Online Courses

Dr. Ing. Marius Tataru & Emilian Porumb, Polytechnic University of Timisoara - VR and MR applications Spotlight Heritage Timișoara / Spotlight Heritage VR and MR apps

- Giulia Vigo, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy (online) – Digital Culture and Spotlight Heritage Experiences / Digital Culture and Spotlight Heritage Experiences

Sonja Schachinger – Producer, curator and mediator in art and science, BioArt Revolution, Austria – Artworks in Digital Materials

Oana Romocea, Romanian Science Festival, BioArt Revolution, Romania – Romanian Science Festival: Digital Competencies in STEM education / Romanian Science Festival: Digital Competencies in STEM education

Mirela Stoeac Vladuti, MV Sci-Art, Romania – MV Sci-Art actions

Prof. Mark Frydenberg, Bentley University, USA (online) – How teachers use Metaverse and AI / How teachers use Metaverse and AI

The workshop also included case studies about the impact that digitization has on education and culture, with examples from Timișoara but also from Europe, as well as studies about the initiatives and projects that can shape the education of the future. Among the examples of good practice offered are the projects EBSI-NE, OpenDigCompEdu, E³UDRES² and Patrimoniu sub reflectoare/Spotlight Heritage Timișoara.

Participation was free, the presentations were held in both Romanian and English and the participants received Digital Skills for Education & Innovation Participant Open Badges for online participation and, in addition, Certificates of Participation for the participants in the room .

All workshops are integrated, with activities and tests in UPT's free online course platform, UniCampus, at https://unicampus.ro/ and can be followed by anyone, at the end being awarded a certificate of graduation.

The recording of the event as well as additional information about the topics discussed and the presenters is available by going to: https://elearning.upt.ro/ro/event/workshop-digital-skills-2023/