ERASMUS+ BIP Summer School 2025: International Research in Culture and Arts Education

As an educational scientist, Jörissen is known for his work on aesthetics, media and educational theory. His work focuses on the concept of Bildung, which he understands as a relational, i.e., superindividual, transformative and dynamic process of self and societal development. Within this framework, he explores the role of digital media and technology in education, particularly in terms of how they impact the cultural and societal dimensions of Bildung. Overall, Jörissen’s work is notable for its interdisciplinary approach, drawing on philosophy, critical theory, cultural studies, media theory, and qualitative (reconstructive) research in order to develop a nuanced and critical understanding of education as a dynamic and transformative process.

Edwin van Meerkerk is professor of Cultural Education at Radboud University, Nijmegen. He publishes on this subject as well as on cultural policy and higher education for sustainability in both open-access academic journals and for the wider public. He is also endowed professor of Social and Cultural Sustainability at ArtEZ University of the Arts and Leadership fellow in the Comenius Programme for Educational Innovation. In his research and teaching, he is driven by curiosity about how people give shape to their ideas about the value of art in practice. He does this, among other things, through his long-term research into the cooperation between art teachers and teachers in primary education within the framework of the national programme Quality Cultural Education. He is also concerned with the differences between policy and practice with regard to cultural entrepreneurship. He has worked with societal partners such as Oxfam on bridging arts and cultural education with global societal challenges. Currently, he is leading a project to implement sustainability in the widest sense of the concept in all bachelor’s programmes at Radboud University.

Elīna Vikmane is the director of MA study programme “Cultural Heritage Governance and Communication” at Latvian Academy of Culture, the member of Digital Transformation working group at Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO),  the board member of the Latvian Museum Association and Latvian Contemporary Art Museum Foundation.

In 2023, her PhD thesis research proposal “Advancing cybermuseology: Digital innovation diffusion in museum sector” was awarded Aina Birnitis Fellowship in humanities for Latvia by The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (USA). In 2021, she was awarded “Emerging Scholar Award” from the global “Inclusive Museum Research Network”,

Her interests are mainly related to the museum theory and practice with the focus on dynamics of the digital advancement of museums and a social role of culture and cultural heritage in particular. In 2023, her project proposal “Striving Towards Participatory Engagement in Museums: Inquiry into Museum Education Practice in Latvia (MEET)” was selected as one of four three years projects in humanities by Latvian Science Council (overall success rate – 7,5%). Previously, she has been involved in research projects, such as “The Art of Nationalism: Social Solidarity and Exclusion in Contemporary Latvia” and “Cultural Capital as a Resource for Sustainable Development of Latvia/CARD”. In 2021, she has received numerous r research grants for doctoral students from Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies, and a grant “To Support Research Activities and Dissemination of the Findings” from the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia.

Thank you very much!