Leading an SFU - interview with three centre directors

When the first national call for proposals for a Centre of Excellence in Education (CEE) came out, NMH took the decision to submit an application for a CEE in music performance. During the application process, three main areas were developed: main instrument teaching, rehearsal and entrepreneurship.

- When we were awarded the grant, we had already learnt that there were more than 20 applicants, many from large, high-profile universities. Nevertheless, we achieved the highest score, and we were very proud of that, Hanken says.

- Why do you think we were awarded the centre status?

- In the application, we identified clear gaps in our knowledge or teaching practices, Hanken continues. The Academy of Music had performance teachers at a high artistic level, and NMH was recognised as having one of Europe's most active academic environments for research on and for higher music education. We also had ambitions to reach out internationally with the proposed centre, says Ingrid Maria Hanken, who became head of the newly established centre.

There was a deep interest in ensuring that the initiative for an SFU would be anchored among teachers and students at NMH, but also among the other Norwegian music education institutions.
- It was not supposed to be an initiative just for NMH, but a boost for all the Norwegian institutions" says Hanken.

From the very beginning, the Norwegian music education institutions were therefore involved in various development projects. The idea was that CEMPE would act as a catalyst for the music performance education field as a whole. For Jon Helge Sætre, who took over in March 2016, it was also important to continue the idea of CEMPE as a national centre.

- Thus, we started with national seminars that rotated among the institutions. The first one was held in Agder, then we visited Bergen. I remember that we were very concerned to ensure that the seminars were about something that was important to the institution we visited.

- Did you find it challenging to engage teachers and students in CEMPE's projects?

– I don't think it was that difficult. We didn't have any major problems filling the available places, but the teachers who were already very interested in teaching issues tended to join first," says Hanken about the first period.

She goes on to explain that through the high-quality introductory courses in university pedagogy that had been running at NMH for a number of years, NMH already had a core group of competent performance teachers with a deep interest in teaching. Nevertheless, it was a milestone when CEMPE managed to engage groups that had not been involved in previous similar projects. Sætre also experienced a great deal of interest among many of the NMH teachers to develop their teaching:

– I remember thinking that people typically say that higher music education is conservative, and that's probably true in many ways, but I found that there were a great number of staff and students who had ideas for new ways of working; there was a tremendous zeal for development.

However, Sætre felt that this led to a dilemma between sticking to plans and strategies and meeting set objectives, while at the same time being open to including new ideas and perspectives along the way - a balance that the other centre managers had also experienced.

- How have students been involved in CEMPE?

– Several of the first projects were quite student-driven, where the students took charge of the teaching. There were several projects that explored how much responsibility the students could take on," Hanken begins.

While in the first period it was the teachers who set up projects, there was a change in the transition to the second period, Sætre continues.

– There was a significant shift around 2017-18, where perhaps the most important move was the idea of student partners, that students should be part of the CEMPE management and thus have access to processes at an earlier stage. That changed a lot and eventually became something that CEMPE succeeded in doing in a way that other parts of the institution hadn't done or even thought about.

– I just smiled broadly when I saw it! We should have thought of that before, Hanken responds.

It was through the student partners that mental musician health was put on the agenda:

– There is a totally new kind of openness and acceptance of mental health today than there was in 2013. I felt that it was the student partners who made us realise how important it was, through initiatives such as the seminar Musician and the Psyche (Musikeren og Psyken), Stabell explains.

The centre directors all find that throughout the period it has been demanding to document, communicate and share project results and experiences with students and staff in higher music education.

– What I experienced as a dilemma right from the start was dissemination and communication. How do you take the knowledge that was gained in the room where the change took place and share it with others so that they can get ideas on how to continue and further develop it? I think that has been tricky, Hanken recalls, something the other centre directors nod in agreement with.

From the first period, Hanken remembers that CEMPE prioritised being physically present to meet with teachers and students:

– We tried to join the start-up day for teachers and have short presentations where people talked about their projects, and there were some discussions. I find that the oral form is best suited to our target groups, but at the same time it's much more ephemeral and it's hard to say how many people you'll reach.

– In the first six or seven years, the centre was very project-oriented. In the last three or four years, however, there has been an increasing focus on outreach. "We started publishing an annual CEMPE magazine, we started an Instagram account and we developed our own website, all of which were aimed at communicating experiences and findings in various ways to teachers and students in higher music education, Sætre continues.

Speaking of new formats, CEMPE launched its own podcast in 2022, hosted by Veronica Ski-Berg and Tanja Orning.

– Konservatoriumspodden is a very exciting way to actualise development processes in higher music education, where Ski-Berg and Orning collect and disseminate results from CEMPE's projects and connect them to current topics and existing research and practices," says Stabell.

- What do you consider to be the most important achievement of CEMPE during the centre period?

Ellen Stabell emphasises the student projects as one of the most important contributions made by CEMPE:

– Seeing what has been achieved through the student projects makes me really proud to be part of CEMPE, Stabell says enthusiastic.

Jon Helge Sætre further emphasises the role CEMPE played in the major European AEC-project, Strengthening Music in Society.

– In this project, CEMPE pushed the European field forward. "It was really amazing what CEMPE achieved there. We wrote several texts in various formats, we organised two international conferences, we published an anthology, and there was a level of commitment in the working group that was beyond what you might expect.

For Hanken, the key moment was when they managed to involve teachers who didn't usually take part in development projects.

– That we did not only manage to involve the teachers who were already 'converted', but also succeeded in engaging those who didn't quite understand or identify with what we educators were talking about and doing. That those teachers got involved and came up with good ideas that they wanted to try out was a real achievement."

- Now that CEMPE is moving towards the end of the period of external funding, what do you consider to be the most important things to continue?

– I hope that there can still be a system where students have access to funds, resources and a supportive environment to develop their own projects, so that they can be proactive and influence their study programmes, says Stabell, pointing out that this is perhaps what she is most worried about when the centre ceases to operate at the institution.

– A key to CEMPE's success has been to give teachers and students better opportunities to talk to each other, both in terms of support and funding," Sætre continues, expressing concern that in times of financial constraints in the sector, it may be challenging to find the time and energy to do the extra work required to rethink what you're doing. "I hope for some kind of structure and financial support that gives people time to talk to each other and try out ideas. At the Academy of Music, the focus is usually on research and artistic research, and there is a risk that pedagogical development work will fall under the radar," Sætre concludes.

– And if we think strategically about competence development, the requirements for pedagogical competence for promotion have been tightened. "If the Norwegian Academy of Music is thinking about qualifying its staff, then some resources will be needed both to give people time to carry out projects and to provide them with guidance along the way," Hanken summarises.

On that note, we would like to thank the three centre directors for the interview. It will be exciting to see how the centre's activities and results are implemented in the institution after December 2023. Just as the centre directors do, we hope that there will be structures and resources that encourage continued exploration and development of higher music education for both students and staff.