By Bernie Goldbach in Clonmel. Photo from Limerick Workbench.
TEN YEARS AGO, I watched a collection of artwork emerge as pre-teens sketched out their special spaces. Today, I listened to university staff lament the scarcity of spaces for creative students.
Creatives need spaces to create.
For the past five years, I've tried to refine active learning approaches. Throughout that time, the infrastructure required has never met the mission requirements.
There is no space for students on the Clonmel Digital Campus to go between classes. The canteen cannot hold more than one class cohort. The library has eight chairs.
We need Maker Space, project rooms, active learning labs and safe spaces to practice presentation skills.
We need innovation paint on the walls.
We need a large Surface Studio in the main reception to allow students to meet up and create across time zones.
I'm producing some of my most creative work inside a shed--we call it a studio or a cabin--that we built during COVID lockdown. If you can find it on Google Maps, you're welcome to visit for a coffee chat. I grind my own beans.
[Bernie Goldbach teaches creative leadership through knowledge management for the Technological University of the Shannon.]
