Title: AGORA - Mapping The Narratives Of STEAM

Authors: O'Grady, F., Dambrauskas, A., Sigijane, K. Hinnekint, K., Prieto, M., Sølvkjær Christensen, P., Neykova, R., Buček, S., Boleková, E., Sapkota, B., Gutkin, I., Smrek, J., Zinkevičiūtė, K., Zahariev, K, Ziaei Majafabadi, M., Frota, M., Trapp, M., Lõvi, M., Gregg, P., Metsküla, R., Pukelytė, V., Stoev, Y.

Institution: FilmEU - European University

Date: September 4, 2026

Executive Summary: FilmEU Agora is structured as an open process of exploration, grounded in lived experience and collaborative dialogue. This project explores the theme of “Mapping the Narratives in STEAM”, seeking to understand how STEAM is already present, enacted, and interpreted across diverse contexts. Narratives, within the terms of this project, function as a means of revealing underlying assumptions, values, and relationships that shape how interdisciplinary education is understood, especially in the context of art education. These narratives include, for example, STEAM as structural challenge, as a question of visibility, as a philosophical position regarding knowledge, and as a lived practice embedded in creative and technical work.

The Agora can therefore be understood as both context and method: a structured environment in which STEAM is explored, and a process through which its meanings are produced. By foregrounding collaboration, dialogue, and lived experience, it provides a basis for examining how interdisciplinary education is not only conceptualised, but enacted. Rather than pursuing consensus or a singular definition, the Agora foregrounds the identification of multiple – and at times competing – narratives that reflect the varied ways STEAM is understood and enacted across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural contexts.

This paper explores how STEAM is understood across different institutional and disciplinary contexts, how it is enacted through creative and technical practices, and where tensions arise between these lived realities and existing educational structures. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to a reframing of STEAM – it rejects disciplinary compartmentalisation and argues for a more accurate articulation of how learning already takes place. At the same time, the paper recognises STEAM as an evolving field of educational practice, shaped through ongoing dialogue, experimentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Our proposals are shaped by concrete examples drawn from the authors’ work, including teaching approaches, creative production processes, and collaborative projects. We believe that knowledge is generated not through detached observation, but through engagement with practice as it unfolds.

Keywords: STEAM Education, Problem-based & Interdisciplinary learning, Practice-based Research, Higher Education, Creative Education, FilmEU, Narrative Mapping, STEM Policy.

Title: Strengthening Artistic Research in Second Cycle Film Education

Authors: Michael Keerdo-Dawson (Tallinn University), Martina Mullaney (Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology), Érica Faleiro Rodrigues (Lusófona University), Zdravko Ruzhev (National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts), Alexandre Saunier (LUCA School of Arts)

Institution: FilmEU - European University

Date: August 25, 2026

Executive Summary: This position paper reflects the developing collective voice of the FilmEU alliance on the role of artistic research in second cycle film, media, and audiovisual education. While artistic research has become an increasingly significant mode of knowledge creation in third cycle (doctoral) education, its implementation at Master's level remains inconsistent across European higher education institutions. This imbalance weakens the pipeline between second and third cycle study and denies the majority of students — who will never pursue a doctorate — meaningful exposure to artistic research as a mode of inquiry. Drawing on a survey of 13 heads of study conducted across all eight FilmEU partner institutions in February 2026, we find that roughly half of FilmEU's Master's programmes now treat artistic research as structurally embedded, while the remainder are still experimenting with or planning its implementation. Conceptual clarity, consistent assessment standards, and staff capacity emerge as the principal barriers to further integration. We argue that strengthening artistic research in second cycle education will deepen learning, better prepare students for doctoral pathways, and position film schools as genuine sites of knowledge production within the wider European research ecosystem. To this end, we propose three strategic priorities: the development of rigorous yet flexible assessment criteria, investment in frameworks for the dissemination and evaluation of artistic research outputs, and staff development initiatives to build a shared methodological understanding among supervisors, students, and administrators.

Keywords: Artistic Research, Film Education, Second Cycle Education, Assessment, FilmEU.

In this policy brief FilmEU reports on ongoing cooperation in selected R&I areas and provides a set of recommendations to the European Commission for further policy development.

Title: AGORA – AI and the Future of Film Education

Authors: M. Gerner, A. (Ed.), Carroll, L. (Ed.), J. Damāsio, M. (Ed.), & Cherbatji, M.

Institution: FilmEU - European University

Date: August 29, 2025

Executive Summary: This position paper reflects the developing collective voice of the FilmEU alliance. AI represents both an opportunity and a disruption to the Cultural and Creative Industries (EU 2022). In this context, European film and media education stands at a critical crossroads, as unprecedented AI investments, primarily driven by the US and China, reshape global creative industries in which FilmEU is inserted.

Keywords: Europe, Artificial Intelligence, Education, Creative Industry.