Outcomes of the DEMUSIS entrepreneurial bootcamp for music students “Music – Here and Now” were presented at the 24th International Pedagogical Forum for Performing Arts held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 1-3 October 2021 in a hybrid format. The paper "Cross-curricular Learning in Higher Music Education: Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Music Students Music – Here and Now”, co-written by Ivana Perković, Ivana Vuksanović, Milica Petrović and Dušanka Jelenković Vidović, aimed at presenting the experience from the first bootcamp for music students held in Serbia with the objective to draw conclusions conclusions relevant for the building of key skills important for the professional musician in the third decade of the 21st century.
The starting point of the study was understanding of the changing nature of job market for academically trained musicians in last decades, requiring development of cross-curricular skills, such as capability to integrate and synthetize the acquired knowledge from different areas, ability to work in a team, high interpersonal sensitivity, ability to suggest improvements based on a critical appraisal, and other. However, so far, the development of such knowledge and skills have not been substantially recognized in higher music education curriculum in Serbia. Therefore, the entrepreneurial bootcamp for music students of three higher music institutions in Serbia, held in May 2021 under the title “Music – Here and Now” in hybrid (online and live) form as an activity within the DEMUSIS project, was used as an example of how cross curricular approach can enhance the learning practice of music students.
The research methods included qualitative research of data gathered through semi-structured interviews (with teachers), online surveys (for students) and content analysis to compare current research with the authors’ findings. In addition, a case study on student projects using traditional music was introduced, particularly one realized by a group of students from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade (Zvezdara Forest Invaders).
The results showed that cross-curricular approach in the format of the entrepreneurial bootcamp, is innovative, intensive, and beneficial in applying the academic knowledge of music to real-world problems or situations.
The International Pedagogical Forum for Performing Arts is organized annually by the Department of Solfeggio and Music Pedagogy of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and Serbian Forum for Research in Music Education. The topic of 24th Forum was Folklore in Music Education, presenting recent finds not only in the music pedagogy as the main discipline of the conference, but also from the perspective of ethnomusicology, musicology, music theory, as well as that of psychology, aesthetic and philosophy of music, and other related interdisciplinary cognitive sciences. The proceedings from 24th International Pedagogical Forum for Performing Arts will be published by the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in 2022.
