Young people need creativity and capabilities to thrive in this fast-changing working environment. An Applied Learning course titled Multimedia Storytelling was launched in 2022 to prepare secondary school students to enter vocational education and training programs in the creative media industry. A curriculum team designed and implemented a series of three skills-training co-curricular activities for the first cohort of students. These activities were organized along the lines of Kolb’s experiential learning model to emphasize mutual reinforcement of concrete experience and abstract conceptualization. Participants practised individual and team-based tasks that were commonly found in a creative media company. This paper uses a case study approach to explore how co-curricular activities and instructional strategies of intensive learning enhanced student learning in creative content creation in different formats, including videos, social media posts, and animated news. The learning objectives, activity design, instructional strategy, and manpower/resource support are described. Teacher observations and post-activity surveys of students are used to assess student learning outcomes. Survey results and observations demonstrate that the instructional strategies assisted students’ learning in personal, cognitive, and social dimensions. Among these, personal development and social benefits were notable. Social benefits were particularly prominent at the one overnight camp. Findings indicated that students improved in their confidence in presenting their creative ideas and engagement in collaborative work. It is recommended that intensive skill-training opportunities be incorporated in the future as part of instructional strategies in vocational education and training. As the co-curricular activities demand high resources commitment, financial support from the government and/or educational institutions is needed.

Keywords: experiential learning, co-curricular activities, creative industry, teaching and learning, skill training

1          Introduction

Creativity and imagination are going to define the future. The world needs a creative workforce for economic and social advancement (Allam 2008). In today’s era, policymakers are increasing the investment in vocational skills development and aligning it with the needs of the job market. There is a growing interest in incorporating work-based learning into formal vocational education and training (VET) systems (Maurer 2018). The Hong Kong government is keen to foster the development of arts, cultural, and creative industries (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 2022) as creative education has currency now (Allam 2008). According to industry leaders in Hong Kong, there is currently high demand in the job market for creative talent with strong digital skills (Google & Ipsos 2019).

CLAP-TECH’s Creative Technology and Innovation track was introduced in January 2022 in response to this demand. The program aims to develop students’ competence in storytelling, creativity, the use of technology, and entrepreneurship. It prepares graduates to take up future jobs as content curators, business designers, and creative technologists (Chan et al. 2022). An Applied learning course was offered at the senior secondary school level titled Multimedia Storytelling with 180 instruction hours. This course has five modules: an overview of multimedia storytelling, content creation, multimedia production, creativity and design thinking, and creative projects for social good (Chan et al. 2022). The first cohort of students comprised 120 Form 4 students (equivalent to Grade 10 in the US system).

Three skills-training activities in the form of bootcamps held in the 2022–23 school year form one component of the program’s co-curricular activities. Two daytime bootcamps and one overnight bootcamp were held at this time, with attendance ranging from 20 to 82 students. Each bootcamp lasted for three days. Bootcamps in the technology industry refer to intensive training courses that teach a specific skill in high demand in the job market. They usually involve a focused agenda and project-based learning that requires students to engage in realistic tasks (International Telecommunication Union 2016; Iron Hack 2022). While adult education bootcamps are often courses conducted over several months preparing learners directly for the job market, mini-bootcamps used in primary or secondary education are usually designed to expose young people to the realities of the technology industry and to generate interest in related careers (International Telecommunication Union 2016; World Bank 2018).

In this article, we first explore conceptual frameworks for understanding the mini-bootcamp model of intensive experiential learning. We then discuss our research method. Next, we introduce the co-curricular activity design and instructional strategies. Subsequently, we present and discuss the evaluation results and findings from teachers and students. Finally, we provide conclusions and recommendations for both practitioners and researchers.

2          Experiential learning

Experiential learning can be variously defined as “learning by doing” (Lewis & Williams 1994) or “learning through reflection on doing” (Smith 2016). Experiential learning helps to address the gap between school-based knowledge and the knowledge required in the workplace (Kolb 2014).

Experiential learning in vocational education ranges from project-based learning that can be conducted in the classroom to work-based learning such as internships. The tradition of project-based learning traces its roots to Italian architectural and engineering education in the 16th century. Students in these early schools completed challenging design assignments for competitions, mimicking real competitions for commissions (Knoll 1997). Project-based learning is better known as a component of American progressive education, heavily inspired by Dewey and his theories of experiential learning (Knoll 1997). Independent projects where students solve practical problems have become a popular component of vocational training. Project-based learning orients students to the real work process, allowing students to bring together the disparate skills they have learned and tackle a problem comprehensively (Gessler & Howe 2015). Projects are seen to develop student initiative, creativity, and judgment (Knoll 1997). Internships and other work-based learning experiences are also forms of experiential learning commonly deployed in vocational education. Putting learners in contact with the real world of work allows for “authentic learning experiences” and enhances student readiness for the school-to-work transition (Watters, Pillay, & Flynn 2016). In Europe, the German dual model of vocational education is widely recognized as a successful model of high-quality vocational education. This model combines experiential learning in the workplace and classroom-based education (Euler 2013; Leney & Green 2005). Experiential learning, in all these forms, helps to address the gap between school-based knowledge and the knowledge required in the workplace (Kolb 2014).

While there are many forms of experiential learning, such as apprenticeships, that are older than the modern school system itself, the major traditions of experiential learning popular today emerged as part of a revolution in educational theory and methods in the late 19th and 20th centuries (Kolb 2014). These experiential learning movements challenged traditional forms of top-down, teacher-led classroom education. They instead promoted more learner-centered forms of education, where learners would participate in knowledge development through reflection on their own experience. By respecting the personal experience of the learner, experiential learning decenters the “expert” and encourages dialogue between personal experience and theory or established knowledge. It emphasizes learning through dialogue and the constructive conflict that arises from it that fosters the development of new knowledge, critical thinking, and creativity (Kolb 2014). These qualities are essential for VET graduates who require social and communication skills, technological literacy, teamwork, and leadership abilities.

Experiential learning has been central to efforts to expand education access for people with different modes of learning, who may be less well-served by traditional education. It is particularly relevant to disadvantaged groups whose social environments condition them less for classroom or textbook modes of learning and instead encourage modes of learning sometimes characterized as “street wisdom”(Kolb 2014).

3          Method: Case study research

Case study research is typically used for the exploration of how or why questions (Yin 2009). It aims to produce comprehensive accounts of a process that allows for in-depth analysis. Case study research is particularly relevant in cases where complex contextual conditions are important and the boundaries between the phenomenon being investigated and its context are not clear-cut (Yin 2009). The use of diverse sources of evidence to triangulate information and generate a comprehensive understanding is stressed in the case study method (Yin 2006). Rather than seeking generalized insight based on large samples, case study research pursues generalizable insight through logical inference based on thick understanding. Case studies can be approached through pre-existing theoretical lenses and are valuable for allowing new insights and explanations to emerge from in-depth knowledge of the case itself (Yin 2006).

All data collection procedures were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Students enrolled in the Applied Learning course as well as their parents were informed of the request related to students’ participation in evaluation measures of teaching and learning, as well as co-curricular activities. Both students and parents provided their written consent. After each of the co-curricular activities, anonymous surveys were conducted with students on the final day. Participation in the study was voluntary.

The survey questions covered the bootcamp learning environment, learning, and personal development, and two open-ended questions asked students for general reflections on the bootcamp and suggestions for future events. A total of 62 out of 82 students completed the post-event survey for the first bootcamp, making for a response rate of 76 percent. For the second and third bootcamps, 23 out of 25 (response rate: 92%) and 17 out of 20 (response rate: 85%) valid feedback surveys were collected, respectively. Observation of the instructors and teacher feedback were utilized to evaluate the outcomes of the bootcamps. The feedback was collected from instructors and teachers verbally during debriefing meetings and after the bootcamp.

4          Co-curricular activities and instruction strategies

The co-curricular activities were designed by a curriculum team including an academic director, a senior curriculum manager, and a curriculum manager. All had significant industry and teaching experience. The designed activities were modeled after real-life workflows in a creative media company. Like a coding bootcamp, the learning experience was project-based, with lectures, group work, and feedback from instructors (International Telecommunication Union 2016). Instructional strategies were informed by thought leaders in teaching creative thinking. These strategies include drafting and prototyping, working in groups, self-testing, practising deliberately, giving and receiving feedback, and verbalizing the processes of learning (Lucas & Spencer 2017). The co-curricular activities also include desirable social and communication skills, technological literacy, teamwork, and leadership skills expected of vocational education and training graduates (Halik Bassah & Noor 2023).

4.1     Video production bootcamp

In August, a three-day video production bootcamp was held at M21, a media studio with facilities for multimedia training and production managed by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth. M21 focuses on serving youth and providing training, resources, and interactive space to support the development and expression of their creativity. The approximately 4,000 square meter space features a variety of facilities for media production. The camp consisted of three days of 7-hour daytime sessions, and students commuted to and from the camp each day. The cost of the bootcamp amounted to roughly EUR430 per student, which covered the rental of the facilities, compensation for the M21 tutors, and meals. Staff invested approximately 23 person-days of time in preparing for the camp.

The main learning objectives of the bootcamp were to identify steps in a media production process, to learn about the different roles in the production process, and to develop collaborative working skills. The bootcamp was designed in line with Kolb’s experiential learning theory, asking students to engage in hands-on practice and then learn through reflection on their experiences. The 82 students were divided into 16 work groups and each group produced one short video. Groups mixed students from different schools based on a pre-camp survey of students’ interests and role preferences, such as whether they preferred to shoot with a professional camera or mobile phone, and whether they wished to act, direct, or play a supporting role. M21 instructors and teaching assistants, comprised of university graduates or undergraduate students with media production experience, served as trainers/supervisors for the 16 groups. Teachers from the students’ secondary schools were present but did not participate in the supervision. They provided mediation only when there was an intense conflict.

The content of the bootcamp included lectures and workshops introducing basic shooting, editing, and post-production skills, alternating with self-guided practice. Table 1 summarizes the daily schedule of the bootcamp. Over the three days (7 hours per day), students experienced the full production cycle of making a short video. They brainstormed ideas, created storylines, acted out and shot their ideas, and finally edited their footage and added post-production effects. On the first day, hands-on learning activities introduced students to basic skills including Studio Filming, Live Broadcasting, Chroma Key Studio Technique, and Podcast and Voice-Over Production. This was followed by a guest key opinion leader (KOL) sharing on the topic of content creation with students. In the afternoon and over the next two days, students began the process of producing their short videos. Additional workshops guided them along the way in ideation, story writing, shooting, and video editing. The students’ work resulted in 2-minute-long original short videos. On the final day, each group of students presented their creative output by screening their video and sharing the group’s story concept.

Abstract conceptualization, experimentation, concrete experience, and reflective observation concepts were built in throughout the bootcamp learning experience. Experimentation to test out abstract concepts through concrete experience was a critical part of the learning process. On each day of the bootcamp, the relevant skills to be practised during the day were first introduced. Students were then advised to experiment with the new ideas or different shooting styles they had learned. After transforming abstract concepts into concrete experiences through their experimentation during the day, students were required to reflect on their experiences through idea sharing, debriefing, and presentation sessions at the end of each day. During the learning process, instructors encouraged students to reflect on the concepts behind their content creation and relate these concepts with what they had learned from the first module of the Multimedia Storytelling curriculum­­. This facilitated the use of concrete experience to deepen abstract conceptualization through the process of reflection.

Table 1: Video Production Bootcamp Schedule

4.2     Content creation bootcamp

In December 2022, a three-day overnight social media content creation bootcamp was held at the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) Jockey Club Sai Kung Outdoor Training Camp for 25 students. The Training Camp features multipurpose activity rooms, a theater, outdoor activity facilities such as a climbing wall, and lodging, providing a convenient space for both classroom activities and team-building events. HKFYG provided programing for ice-breaking and team-building events, while the main content of the camp was designed and coordinated by CLAP-TECH staff. Expenses amounted to approximately EUR430 per student, covering facilities, trainers’ fees, meals and lodging, transportation to and from the campsite, and honorariums for guest speakers. Staff invested approximately 56 workdays in preparing this bootcamp.

The bootcamp learning objectives were for students to demonstrate self-time management; be able to deliver social media post content in a quality manner according to the schedule; embrace feedback and revise their media posts based on feedback; and learn from the exemplary social media posts of their group members. The bootcamp activities revolved around guiding students through the creation and revision of a series of social media posts. Table 2 provides an overview of the bootcamp schedule. Students were then given three to four prompts each day for social media posts relating to the day’s activities. They were divided into groups and were asked to choose a team leader, to further strengthen the group dynamic. Each group was also assigned a teacher who provided support and feedback on students’ posts. The camp opened with a lecture introducing strategies for crafting social media posts and tapping into one’s creativity. The lecture provided abstract concepts that students could then apply for the next few days of the camp. Students then alternated between the practical experience of writing posts and reflection on these posts to consolidate their abstract understanding. Group members also provided peer feedback to one another on the quality of the posts. Teachers assessed and scored each post and provided feedback as well.

In addition to the first-day lecture introducing the topic of content creation, other activities included ice-breaking and team-building ones, a film screening, and a hike in a nearby UNESCO Geopark. The team-building activities helped to develop a rapport among students coming from different schools and were designed to facilitate teamwork. The film and hike inspired related social media posts, including posts on the prompt, “If I were the character in the movie” and posts role-playing a travel and lifestyle blogger promoting the geopark. Students were also prompted to post about their experiences.

The final day of the camp was reserved for a more extended reflection and recognition process. In the morning, students participated in a concept-mapping workshop reflecting on their strengths, interests, and cooperation with others. They were then given time to produce a one-minute reflection video on the experience of the camp, providing room for open-ended reflection. The camp concluded with an award ceremony. All students received participation awards. Those with relatively high overall scores on their social media posts received awards for excellence, and a few received special category awards such as most creative post or best team leader. Awards were distributed based on scoring by teachers.

Table 2: Content Creation Bootcamp Schedule

4.3     New media journalism bootcamp

A three-day camp in new media journalism was held for 20 students in April 2023. The bootcamp was held in a multimedia lab at Hong Kong Baptist University. An experienced journalist was hired to coordinate the training. The total cost of the camp was approximately EUR140 per student.

The learning objectives of the bootcamp were for students to obtain an overview of new media journalism and to integrate the various skills they had learned to present a news story. Students were introduced to the concept of journalistic reporting and to new media formats of news reporting. They learned to select news and to create informative and effective presentations, in the form of video, animation, and social media posts.

Table 3 summarizes the bootcamp schedule. Over the first two days of the camp, a total of four workshops were held, each beginning with a lecture introducing concepts and then allowing students to produce a piece of work as learning by doing. The first workshop on journalistic reporting introduced the objectives, basic elements, and structure of news. After the concepts were introduced, students were assigned a piece of breaking news and were asked to produce a short news story using what they had learned. The second workshop focused on interview techniques and social media writing. Students were asked to interview their fellow students and then create a post with a soundbite from the interview. The third workshop focused on animation. After listening to a sharing by a designer on the use of infographics and animation, students were asked to make a short animation for a news story using Animaker. In the fourth session, students were introduced to data journalism and data visualization. They were asked to find trends on some datasets and to visualize the data. On the final day of the bootcamp, students produced a comprehensive news story including a write-up, headline, photos, videos, motion graphics, and social media posts. The final project required them to synthesize the skills they had learned in an authentic replication of the real news production process. Students then presented the final works and were given feedback by the rest of the class.

Table 3: New Media Journalism Bootcamp Schedule

5          Evaluation and Findings

Students were asked to respond to short questionnaires soliciting their evaluation of the learning outcomes after each bootcamp. They were asked to rate a series of statements on a five-point scale and to provide open-ended feedback summarizing what they thought of the learning experiences. Questionnaires included some questions specific to each bootcamp and some more standard questions. The questionnaire was modeled on other evaluation tools established for the entire program. The questions related to personal, cognitive, and social learning outcomes are analyzed in the following paragraphs. For example, a statement representing cognitive learning outcomes was “The activities of the bootcamp enhance my problem-solving skills”. It must be pointed out here that although some of the researchers were organizers of the co-curricular activities, none of them participated as trainers in the three bootcamps.

Table 4: summarizes the findings of the close-ended questions. Further sub-group analysis is not available as the survey did not collect participants’ demographic information.

• Summary of Student Survey Learning Outcomes and Logistics Ratings (* five-point scale)

In general, students rated the bootcamps highly in personal development outcomes such as interest and confidence in goal setting, cognitive outcomes such as creativity and problem-solving skills, and social outcomes such as collaboration with groupmates and confidence in group work. Statements concerning personal growth featured the highest level of agreement across the three bootcamps and were reflected in open-ended commentary. Most students agreed or strongly agreed that they had been exposed to new experiences through the bootcamps. Overall, survey results indicate that the bootcamp experiences spurred student interest in various aspects of multimedia storytelling and that it gave them a stronger sense of their goals in future study.

The rate of positive responses for cognitive outcomes was slightly lower than for personal outcomes, although also highly positive. Most students across all three bootcamps agreed or strongly agreed that the bootcamp had enhanced their creativity, problem-solving skills, and understanding of the Multimedia Storytelling course content.

Survey results for social learning outcomes were in general positive, with better results for the social media content creation and journalism bootcamps than the video bootcamp. For the video production bootcamp, there were many very positive responses but also some negative responses. While 75.8 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they found a clear role in their group, 4.8 percent also disagreed. Many students indicated strong agreement that they had collaborated well with their groupmates, but another 6.5 percent disagreed.

In terms of social skills development, for most students, collaboration experiences appear to have been a highlight of the video production bootcamp. Meanwhile, even for those who experienced challenges, the chance to resolve and work through conflict was a learning experience. In the remaining two bootcamps, social results were more broadly positive. Agreement with the statement “I collaborate well with my groupmates in the bootcamp” was particularly strong for the content creation bootcamp, likely due to the team-building activities during this bootcamp and the overnight nature of the camp, which allowed students more opportunities to interact and bond together. Finally, for the journalism bootcamp, social results were generally positive. This suggests that the journalism bootcamp, with its fast pace and more classroom-like setting, spurred less social bonding among students. Nevertheless, students strongly agreed that they had found a clear role in their group and felt confident working with others.

Feedback collected from the M21 instructors, teaching assistants, and teachers for the video production bootcamp is summarized as follows:

• Language barriers: Some participants were not Cantonese speakers. They could not communicate effectively with other group members who were Cantonese speakers. As a result, the teaching assistants needed to help with the interpretation during the working sessions.
• Students’ confidence level transformation: Students’ confidence in expressing their creative ideas was initially low. As they engaged in socialization and communication with students from other schools, a positive transformation occurred. Students became more open in expressing their ideas, gained confidence, and actively participated in discussions. They felt empowered to speak up, provide comments, and build upon the ideas of their peers. This development reflects the essence of the creative process, where collaboration and the exchange of ideas play a vital role.
• Disagreement and conflicts: The groups comprised students from different schools. When there were conflicts within the group on the selection of ideas for shooting, M21 teaching assistants attempted to serve as mediators. However, when the situation got intense, teachers were called in to reconcile conflicts among students. It was difficult for a teacher from one school to step in to mediate when group members came from multiple schools. M21 instructors suggested that in the future, it would be desirable to group students according to their schools for easier management.

In debriefing sessions during and after the video production bootcamp, the most prominent observations of teachers focused on the students’ quality of collaboration during the bootcamp. Teachers noted that many positive social results were generated from the collaborative set-up of the bootcamp, including students who had made friends from other schools, inactive students who were able to collaborate and felt motivated, and students who had learned how to resolve conflicts.

Teachers agreed that the overnight setting and activities of the content creation bootcamp had been beneficial for creating a positive social experience and viable group dynamics among students. They particularly noted that students were fast to make friends across different schools. However, one problem with the overnight bootcamp was students’ tendency to stay up too late, potentially affecting their ability to focus the next day. The instructor of the journalism bootcamp observed that most of the students were quick learners, despite having no prior experience in producing news stories. The students were able to conduct news research and produce a short, animated news video by the end of the bootcamp. The lecturer also commended the fact that the students had put extra effort into creating an attractive animation. She remarked that participants were happy, relaxed, and showed enthusiasm and engagement. Teachers believed the students demonstrated stronger motivation and higher commitment to produce work in the journalism bootcamp than in the other two.

Overall, both students and teachers saw the bootcamps as having a positive impact on students’ personal and social development. The bootcamps enhanced student interest and motivation while helping them learn to collaborate with others. Their impacts on cognitive skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and enhancement of course-related skills and knowledge were also assessed positively, although less prominently. It was evident that the overnight bootcamp appeared to be the most conducive to positive social learning outcomes.

6          Logistics

In terms of the venue and logistics of the bootcamp, for the video production bootcamp, students were generally enthusiastic about the M21 facilities, but less satisfied with its location and with the time arrangements. Students said that it was difficult to get up so early in the morning as the venue was far from their homes. For the social media bootcamp, time arrangement and location convenience were more highly rated. Instructors also found that the overnight nature of the camp made it much easier to run logistically, with students being late in the morning proving to be much less of a problem than at the video production camp. Finally, the journalism bootcamp was rated highest among all the bootcamps in all three dimensions of location convenience, facilities, and time arrangement. This is not surprising given that the camp was held at Hong Kong Baptist University, a relatively central and accessible location.

7          Discussion and conclusion

Hong Kong needs talent to develop its creative industry. The Multimedia Storytelling Applied Learning course offered at the secondary school level prepares students to take up future “new collar” jobs as content curators and creative business designers. Co-curricular activities in the form of intensive skill-training bootcamps are innovative instructional strategies for vocational education and training in the creative media industry.

The three Multimedia Storytelling skills bootcamps provided project-based experimental learning opportunities outside the classroom that allowed students to engage in self-directed, collaborative learning. Students exercised their creativity and mimicked the real work process while creating short videos, social media posts, and multimedia news stories. The group work setting required students to work with unfamiliar people, developing communication and collaboration skills in the process. The out-of-classroom setting of the camp stimulated student interest and provided opportunities for team building. Student feedback and teacher observation corroborate that intensive experiential learning in an out-of-classroom setting has a positive impact on students’ personal development, self-exploration, and confidence, as well as motivation to learn. It also challenges them to develop social skills that are increasingly important in creative media jobs and fosters cognitive skills, including creativity and a problem-solving ability.

The benefits of intensive skills training bootcamps can be benchmarked with apprenticeships as a way of bringing theoretical and practical knowledge together. Learning in the context of real work settings helps apprentices gain occupational skills and other work-related skills, including communication, problem-solving, and dealing with colleagues (Abdullah 2020). According to Kolb’s (2014) model of experiential learning, students need to participate in knowledge development through reflection and conceptualization. One prominent challenge was students’ reluctance to engage in written reflection. Concept-mapping exercises and video self-reflections, as in the overnight social media bootcamp, are innovative instructional strategies to encourage critical self-reflection on the development of new knowledge. Students’ evaluations indicated that the instructional strategies adopted for the bootcamps were effective in nurturing creativity and multimedia storytelling skills. Furthermore, organizers suggested that recognition of students’ work could be enhanced beyond the awards ceremony to further encourage students. As the bootcamps adopt a project-based learning model, each time, students produce presentable end-products. These could be shared more broadly, for example, on the program’s online platforms or social media channels, to give recognition to students and thereby foster their enthusiasm for their work.

8          Limitations

A word is required at this point about the several limitations of this study. First, participation in the three co-curricular activities was voluntary. The strong self-selection bias in students’ participation warrants attention. Second, since the activities were free for the participants, they may have been less likely to evaluate them critically. Third, feedback from instructors, teaching assistants, and teachers was informal. It is proposed that more systematic methods of collating feedback, such as surveys, should be used to inform future curriculum design.

9          Pedagogical and policy implications

Based on the positive experiences of the three bootcamps, it is recommended that intensive project-based learning experiences be included as a part of vocational and professional education in future. Organizers can choose between daytime and overnight bootcamps, depending on the desired outcomes. For daytime bootcamps, organizers should be aware of the potential problem of commuting daily and keep location convenience in mind. Ensuring the quality of the group collaboration experience is important for making the most of the learning experience. Instructors and program managers should pay attention to arranging groupings of students in such a manner as to facilitate communication, and to put in place conflict-resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, team-building activities are also a valuable tool to strengthen group collaboration among students. With greater attention to these factors, short-term intensive learning experiences can become a valuable instructional strategy of experiential learning to foster creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork skills for the students.

In conclusion, it must be added that given that organizing bootcamps is extremely time and cost-intensive, a source of funding is necessary to make sure they are possible. Daytime bootcamps can be cheaper than overnight bootcamps, and if cost is a concern, a well-equipped media lab may be sufficient to give students a sense of excitement and a novel experience. All the same, education policymakers and sector leaders should consider allocating more funding for organizing co-curricular activities for skills training.

Acknowledgments

The CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway program was funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust [Grant numbers 2021-0336]. The collection of data reported in the study was generously funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In no event shall the Funder have any liability of any kind to any person or entity arising from or related to any actions taken or not taken as a result of any of the contents herein. No funding was received for the preparation of this manuscript.

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Citation:

Chan, K., Fung, M., Lau, J., Tse, M., & Zhang, J. (2024). Co-Curriculum Development and Instructional Strategies for Nurturing Content-Creation Skills for the Creative Industry. In: TVET^@Asia, issue 22, 1-16. Online: tvet-online.asia/22/co-curriculum-development-and-instructional-strategies-for-nurturing-content-creation-skills-for-the-creative-industry/ (retrieved 14.01.2024). [BA1]

The creative industries in Hong Kong anticipated a shortage of employment candidates with relevant experience and training. Emerging technologies are transforming current technical and vocational skills. Employees of the future are expected to shoulder tasks that require creativity, analytical skills, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship. This article is a case study of an initiative in Hong Kong to innovate technical and vocational education and training for the information and communications technology (ICT) and the creative industry. The initiative involves a tripartite partnership between secondary schools, industry partners, and Hong Kong Baptist University. The article first discusses the talent needs of the creative industry and the emerging job opportunities in the Art Tech domain. Based on a skill mapping study, three future jobs, including content curator, business designer, and creative technologist were identified for the Art-Tech sector. The functions and duties of these future jobs were elaborated. It gives the background of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway program which is modeled after IBM’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) education model. The “CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway” includes two applied learning courses—Tech Basic and Multimedia Storytelling—offered in senior secondary schools with further study opportunities. Industry partners provide out-of-classroom learning in the form of mentoring, curriculum co-development, guest lectures, and company visits. The set-up of the organization within the university system, the recruitment and maintenance of the industry partners, and the program evaluation mechanism was discussed. Students’ learning outcomes of the program focus on ICT education and training were used as an indicator of the initial success of the program. Further development of the program and the research gaps were identified and presented.

Keywords: ArtTech, creative industries, future jobs, articulation pathways, creativity education, case study

1        Overview of the talent demands of the creative industries

According to a manpower demand survey conducted by CreateHK in 2016, 40 percent of employees in creative industries anticipated a lack of applicants with relevant experience and training, constituting a major recruitment problem (CreateHK 2016). The creative media thrive on a strong creative skillset, business acumen, and a mindset open to using technology to communicate ideas. Creativity and problem-solving skills are in the greatest demand but are very hard to recruit (Google & Ipsos 2019). As leaders, creative personnel can help companies achieve key business goals through clever design (Field 2015). Interviews with creative industry leaders reveal demand for creative talent, but report that those recruited often lack the grooming necessary to make them fully digitally equipped (IBM 2021).

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, virtual reality and machine learning can be combined with creative tools such as iMovie, Wix, or Canva to make manual tasks easier for everyone (McMahon 2019). Employees no longer need to spend long hours editing photos or a movie or managing content on a platform. In the future, they will be able to concentrate on tasks that require creative, problem-solving, analytical, and entrepreneurial skills (Van Nuys 2019; Vocational Training Board Hong Kong 2019; World Economic Forum 2020). Future jobs in marketing, content production, and product development will require employees to be creative and have good problem-solving skills (World Economic Forum 2020).

Even today, the workforce in the multimedia and creative media industries requires transferable competencies if they are to remain adaptive to the rapid changes in the workplace and to technological development. Their training and education should go beyond the use of specific software or platform tools to more generic competencies such as creating design concepts, generating project plans, and negotiating business needs with clients (Nguyen & Diep 2021).

Google and Ipsos have developed a 2×2 grid to identify skills that are important but difficult to find based on a survey of 99 respondents from Hong Kong corporations (Google & Ipsos 2019). The grid classifies skills as low in demand and easy to recruit, low in demand and hard to recruit, in high demand but easy to recruit, or high in demand and also hard to recruit. Problem-solving, creativity, and data analytics were the three skills classified as in high demand but very difficult to recruit. Another Hong Kong study has identified instructing, managing, or motivating others (58%), creativity and problem-solving (54%), and team working (52%) as the three skills in which employers most need to train their managers and administrators (Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong 2019). For professionals, the most important skills requiring training were found to be creativity and problem-solving ability (41.7%).

2        Art tech and its impacts

Art Tech refers to the application of technology in artistic creation to enhance the content and delivery of artistic creation, facilitate the succession of arts, as well as provide the audience with engagement opportunities and a deep experience (The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 2021). Art Tech is a global trend that is changing how people perceive, consume, and interact with art and culture. It creates new possibilities for artists, audiences, and industries, broadens the horizon of creativity in the arts, and brings new opportunities for the creative industries (The Chief Executive of Hong Kong 2020). In Hong Kong, the government has set aside HK$100 million to encourage local organizations to undertake art tech projects, enhance art education, as well as provide venues and free facilities for experimental use (The Chief Executive of Hong Kong 2020).

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, art tech was disrupting cultural ecosystems worldwide. Britain has its #CultureisDigital project. Korea has its Korea Creative Content Agency, and Taiwan too has a cultural policy agenda. These governments have allocated resources and constructed experimental spaces for artistic expression involving technology. Adopting virtual reality in theaters or art galleries is a prominent example (So & Lam 2020). Revenue growth in the art tech sector has ranged from 5.2% in 2017–2018 in Taiwan (Ministry of Culture Taiwan 2019) to 6.5% over the 2014–2018 period in South Korea (Korea Creative Content Agency 2021). In Hong Kong annual manpower growth of 3.1% is officially projected for the art and tech industry compared with the 0.3% projected for other industries (Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong 2019). Art tech is also expected to contribute more to GDP growth in Hong Kong than other industry sectors.

Art Tech expressions are not unfamiliar to Hong Kong residents. Museums in Hong Kong have taken initiatives to curate technology-enhanced exhibits which bring immersive experiences to the public. For example, when six mummies from Britain were displayed at the Hong Kong Science Museum, visitors could peel back virtually the different layers of the Nestawedjat mummy’s linen wrappings on an electronic interaction screen to the resin that was used to preserve her body. That revealed the amulets that were buried with her, and finally her skeleton (Raybaud 2017). Today, non-fungible tokens and blockchains are creating a new market for digital art (Zeng 2021).

Apart from generating new markets, Art Tech also influences hiring in the arts. According to the Google and Ipsos study mentioned earlier, 64% of Hong Kong’s companies reported difficulties in hiring employees combining strong numeracy with creative skills (Google & Ipsos 2019). Nowadays, some European countries are investing in promoting a blending of artistic and tech initiatives. In June 2019, cultural institutes from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland in the San Francisco Bay Area formed a new partnership, EUNIC Silicon Valley, to explore together the intersection of Art + Tech (Hochman & Reben 2019). Software, computer games, and interactive media account for 50% of the creative sector’s value-added and manpower. In Hong Kong, these three product categories are demonstrating constant annual growth in contrast to traditional creative sectors showing no growth (Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong 2020). Such creative sectors expect their employees to acquire coding and other computer skills and to communicate their ideas using digital tools (Field 2015). The higher education sector has a role to play in nurturing art tech talent. The Hong Kong Baptist University, for example, considers itself well-positioned to push art tech forward by leveraging its strengths in both the creative arts and  the sciences (Hong Kong Baptist University 2021).

New collar jobs emerge as a result of the new technical and professional skills required for 21^st century jobs (IBM 2022). New-collar jobs typically involve technical, and hands-on work. They may not call for a traditional college degree but do require considerable skills or talent, either learned or self-taught. Examples of new-collar jobs include jobs in the information technology sector such as mobile app developers, cybersecurity specialists, cloud server technicians, and project managers. In the creative media sector, examples include graphic designers, social media specialists, media production assistants, and digital marketing assistants.

In early 2021 our group at the Hong Kong Baptist University used IBM iX, IBM’s digital and design consultancy arm, to identify key job roles in the creative media industries (IBM 2021). A qualitative skill mapping study was conducted that involved ten in-depth interviews with secondary school and higher education educators, professionals in the creative media industry, leaders of related professional bodies, and potential employers. The objective was to understand the current weaknesses and difficulties in educating talented young persons in the creative media and storytelling industries. The study also attempted to identify future skill demands and job roles in those industries in Hong Kong over the ensuing five years. According to this study, three key future job roles were identified, including content curators, business designers, and creative technologists. These three future job roles have different levels of requirement in their storytelling, creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship competence (see Table 1). The function of the content curator is to analyze the communication context and create the most relevant content in different formats across different platforms, including video, sound, and animations. His or her duties will include gathering, arranging, and analyzing data about the situation, brainstorming, storyboarding the idea, and creating and presenting the content in a creative and well-organized manner. The function of the business designer is to understand business challenges and provide a design solution to enhance consumer experiences. His or her duties will include communicating and collaborating with clients to understand business challenges and opportunities, conducting market and product research, and designing business models that enhance user experiences. The function of the creative technologist is to develop prototypes and explore new technologies and help implement changes. His or her duties will include conducting research with users to identify problems, suggest creative ideas to solve problems, visualize the idea with different technology, and create prototypes to validate the design. The findings of the skill mapping study guide the development of vocational and technical education and training models for the creative industries in Hong Kong.

Table 1: Key Future Job Roles

3        From P-TECH to CLAP-TECH

In 2011, IBM launched its Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) education model in Brooklyn, New York in response to the need for equity in education and the emergence of new job categories (Litow & Kelley 2021). P-TECH is an educational model to provide young people with professional skills for the ‘new collar’ jobs created by emerging technologies as well as university studies (IBM 2017). IBM partnered with secondary and tertiary educational institutions, industry partners, and other funders in a program designed to prepare students equipped with specialized and career-ready industry knowledge and workplace skills through lectures, practical experience, and mentoring. The P-TECH model attracted global attention for its success as a direct link to entry-level jobs in the ICT industry (Flynn, Pillay, & Watters 2015). Over the subsequent decade, the P-TECH concept grew from one school in the U.S. to 266 partner schools, 200 higher education partners, and more than 600 industry partners in 28 countries (IBM 2021).

The P-TECH concept was introduced to Hong Kong with a generous donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The Hong Kong version is known as the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway. It leveraged the success of the CLAP@JC program funded also by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. CLAP@JC is Hong Kong’s first cross-sectoral initiative supporting career and life development. The objective is to build a sustainable system that smooths young people’s transition from school to work. The program encourages youth to maximize their potential through multiple work-study pathways. The framework is built on engagement, self-understanding, career and pathway exploration, as well as planning and career management. Students are encouraged to identify their career interests and to create different pathways to success and self-actualization (CLAP@JC 2022).

The CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway is a school-university-business partnership. The talent development pathway progresses from school to work using industry-recognized course content based on industries’ skill mapping. The program takes a new collar approach, providing workplace learning opportunities and placing the participants first-in-line for interviews for available jobs. So, the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway is trying to cultivate a learning pathway within the mainstream for students who are looking for an unconventional mode of learning to prepare them for a career.

Based on this concept, the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway was designed specifically to prepare young persons for a career in interactive computer technology and/or the creative media. The pathway is a five-year journey starting in the final three years of secondary education leading into a two-year post-secondary program. The secondary school component differentiates the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway from most of the other technical and vocational training available in Hong Kong. Applied learning courses like Tech Basics and Multimedia Storytelling can lead to both academic and professional recognition for the program’s graduates. Applied Learning courses are elective courses within the formal senior secondary curriculum and are linked to specific professional and vocational sectors. These courses are usually offered by post-secondary institutes in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Education Bureau 2020). These courses enable students to develop a skill set for entry-level jobs, career-related competencies, and also generic skills. Students can explore their career aspirations and orientation for lifelong learning through these courses (Hong Kong Education Bureau 2022).

Hong Kong’s government has been supporting applied learning as a way to promote whole-person education and to cater to student diversity (The Chief Executive of Hong Kong 2020). A government task force on the promotion of vocational and professional education and training has recommended that the government encourage more institutions to launch vocational training pathways following the CLAP-TECH model, starting with applied learning courses and leading to a Higher Diploma (Hong Kong Education Bureau 2020).

A CLAP-TECH Centre was established at the Hong Kong Baptist University in July 2021 to spearhead the design and the implementation of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway. The CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway has two tracks. The first track is the ICT track and the second track is the Creative Technology and Innovation track. These two tracks received altogether a donation of HK$136 million from the Jockey Club Charities Trust (Hong Kong Baptist University 2022). As of April 2022, the CLAP-TECH Centre has a team of 11 full-time employees responsible for curriculum development, project management, coordination with industry partners as well as secondary school educators, program evaluation, and publicity. The organizational chart of the CLAP-TECH Centre is shown in Figure 1. The program also hires part-time teaching staff responsible for the teaching and learning of the applied learning courses. The teaching staff of the CLAP-TECH Centre reports concurrently to the deans of the academic units involved.

4        The CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway

Figure 2 provides an overview of the CLAP-TECH program. For those entering from secondary school, there will be “taster” programs that will help students to test whether they have a general interest in the new careers the program emphasizes. Students can then enroll in an applied learning course, co-taught by Hong Kong Baptist University and secondary school educators. Most students are expected to take part in this formal curriculum for two years, learning and exploring according to their interests. Those two years will begin to prepare the students for career and life planning. They will learn about themselves, the industry, and career options. The CLAP-TECH program will provide young people with eye-opening learning opportunities integrated with their core subject learning extracurricular activities, and mentorship by industry practitioners. When a student has received their diploma in secondary education they will be eligible for a two-year Higher Diploma program offered by the Hong Kong Baptist University. In that program, they will take relevant core and elective courses, and receive career planning and management advice. With a Higher Diploma, they will be well-prepared to develop their entrepreneurship ideas, enter the workforce, or pursue further studies (see Figure 2).

The first ICT track of the CLAP-TECH initiative was launched in 2019 with about 100 students from five secondary schools. They shall graduate from secondary education in June 2022. A new Higher Diploma in Data Science at the Hong Kong Baptist University will have its first intake in September 2022. That initial program focused exclusively on interactive computer technology (ICT). The second Creative Technology and Innovation track was launched in January 2022. The first cohort of students will complete their secondary education in 2024 and they will then have an opportunity to join a new Higher Diploma in Creative Media in September 2024.

5        CLAP-TECH’s Creative Technology and Innovation track

The Creative Technology and Innovation track consists of 180 hours of applied learning at the secondary school level in the Multimedia Storytelling course, followed by two years of Higher Diploma study. The student-centered teaching and learning are designed to help students understand the fundamental theories and concepts of storytelling, develop generic creative skills, and explain the career possibilities in the field of creative media and communication. The program aims to provide students with a taste of the working environment in various creative media and perhaps to instill a passion for a further career in creative media or related fields. The curriculum has six modules (see Figure 3).

The course content provides students with a systematic understanding of the context of creative media work. They will come to appreciate the relevance and importance of storytelling skills and the use of technological tools. Company visits and mentorships, co-taught by industry practitioners, as well as co-curriculum development with industry partners will provide up-to-date curricular design and eye-opening opportunities to experience the complexity of the workplace. Learning through practice in an authentic or near-authentic environment will help the young students to acquire an understanding of the requirements for fundamental knowledge and practical skills essential in the creative industries. They will consolidate their learning and demonstrate competence in creating a coherent story using multiple platforms through a final collaborative project which will involve using multimedia storytelling to advance a social cause.

Those completing the course should be able to

• Identify the structure of a story and forms of storytelling in creative media;
• Evaluate and apply multimedia storytelling in branding, in creating news and entertainment content, in copywriting, and in public relations;
• Build a portfolio demonstrating their creative media skills;
• Explain the ethical, legal, and socially responsible way of telling a story;
• Apply creative and design thinking in creating multimedia stories serving a variety of organizational goals;
• Apply visual communication skills and basic principles of aesthetics for effective multimedia communication across creative media settings; and
• Develop self-understanding for further study and/or career development in a creative field.

With industry support for various extracurricular activities, students will be expected to acquire different competencies, skills, and attitudes summarized in Table 2.

Table 2: Competencies, Skills, and Attitudes

6        Industry participation

Industry-school partnership in vocational and technology education has been shown to yield useful results. A study in Australia examined the impact of the industry-school partnership on systemic and human resource capacity to support the employability of school graduates (Flynn, Pillay, & Watters 2015). Results indicated that both schools and industry partners demonstrate boundary-crossing mechanics of identification, coordination, reflection, and transformation, to bring mutually beneficial outcomes. The partnership enabled teachers and school managers to work with the industry effectively and confidently (Flynn, Pillay, & Watters 2015). Boundary crossing refers to the efforts of both school and industry partners to negotiate obstacles and align objectives as well as provide a frame of reference to create a hybrid learning space for students where formal curriculum and workplace experience are closely connected (Akkerman & Bakker 2011; Zitter & Hoeve 2012). A study in the Philippines found that including industry-supported job training in the senior secondary school curriculum provided useful industry exposure. Most of the graduates of the hotel and catering and electromechanical industry pilot schemes studied were assessed by potential employers as workplace-ready (Jaca & Javines 2022).  

The CLAP-TECH model has industry, a university, and secondary schools in a tripartite partnership. The secondary schools promote the program and initially enroll its students, as well as provide career and life planning support. The university co-develops the curriculum with industry partners and provides teaching for the applied learning course as well as post-secondary education. The industry partners provide advice on skill mapping and develop industry-recognized qualifications. As of April 2022, six organizations have signed agreements to be the industry partners of the ICT track and 11 have agreed to support the Creative Technology and Innovation track.

Multiple strategies were adopted to recruit industry partners for the Creative Technology and Innovation track, including referrals, personal and professional networks, and cold calling of strategic potential partners. The target industry sectors include media and technology companies, advertising and public relations agencies, museums and theme parks, youth associations, relevant professional bodies, as well as cultural centers. When initial contacts were made, face-to-face meetings were arranged to present the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway model. Most of the industry partners were concerned about the resource commitment of the partnership, including the number of mentors contributed, the frequency of meet-ups with students, and the number of internship placements. A few of them preferred to maintain an informal linkage to the program and did not want to sign a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU). The most enthusiastic partners were long-time friends with Hong Kong Baptist University that have supported undergraduate and postgraduate education programs in the past decades.

As the School of Communication was the pioneer in communication education in Hong Kong, the School was highly regarded and connected in the creative media industry. Industry partners often see the collaboration as an opportunity to contribute to the nurturing of creative talent, access to the student body to know more about the youth, and fulfill the corporate and social responsibilities of their business. The strategies for maintaining industry engagement include regular communication through emails, inviting them to participate in train-the-trainer activities, and industry events such as symposiums and virtual agency/firm tours.

The recruitment and maintaining engagement of industry partners took up substantial time and effort, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some companies need levels of approval before establishing a formal partnership. Conventional activities such as networking lunches and face-to-face industry events were restricted due to social distancing policies. Given the increase in student intake and staff turnover in the companies, it will be a challenge to maintain an active pool of industry partners.

7        Student learning outcomes and evaluation of the ICT track

The review of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway program’s outcomes and impact involved quantitative and qualitative surveys carried out among the secondary school students and their teachers, industry mentors, and principals. Since the Creative Technology and Innovation track was launched only in January 2022, we use the ICT track as an example. For comparison purposes, one survey was administered to classmates of the CLAP-TECH students not involved in the Tech Basic applied learning course. In addition, after each event with an industry partner, post-event evaluation surveys were conducted. All of the participating students, teachers, and mentors were invited to respond to the surveys, but their participation was voluntary.

These surveys compared CLAP-TECH students who had participated in the Tech Basic applied learning course and its associate activities with students who had not attended it. The data showed that the students who had attended the applied learning course were more knowledgeable about the IT industry and its workplaces than those who did not attend. And the students who participated in the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway also attained higher scores in life and career exploration (see Figure 4).

The key outcomes of CLAP-TECH are based on the BACK model which aims to
enhance the Behavior, Attitudes, Condition, and Knowledge of the students, educators, and the mentors participating. It measures behavioral change, shift in motivation, interest and desire, circumstances and life conditions, and awareness of key information as well as the acquisition of a skill. It aims as well at promoting overall satisfaction with the learning experience. This BACK evaluation model was developed by the project’s sponsor (The Hong Kong Jockey Club 2017). Various outcome indicators were evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods. Figure 5 shows the evolution of the students’ knowledge, attitude, behavior, condition, and satisfaction ratings throughout the program. More than 80 percent of the students awarded a favorable rating in all five categories by the end of November 2021.

8        Research gaps

In reviewing the current progress, we identify the following research gaps that need to be examined systematically:

• Identify learning theories that may help explain how students are influenced by participating in the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway
• Develop short-term, medium-term, or long-term student learning outcomes that are likely to occur in the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway context
• Identify the unique characteristics of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway that contribute to the desired student learning outcomes
• Explore ways to improve the recruitment of industry partners, how to engage them effectively, and how to sustain the collaborative relationship
• Identify roles played by various stakeholders in the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway and the perceived factors of critical success

9        Conclusion

The 21^st century job skills for the creative industries include creativity, problem-solving, analytical skills, and entrepreneurship. The design and the implementation of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway attempted to develop competence in the creative industries has been described. It can serve as a model of the tripartite partnership of secondary schools, higher education institutions, and industry professionals in this effort. The applied learning courses in the senior secondary school curriculum provide an opportunity for vocational and technical education and training, but relatively few students are taking these applied learning courses compared with core courses in the arts and sciences. Better promotion to senior secondary school students is needed. Student learning outcomes and their evaluations indicate that the ICT track of the CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway has demonstrated initial success. The next step should be to apply what we have learned from the ICT track to the Creative Technology and Innovation track. Systematic research should be conducted to identify specific elements of the program that are able to generate specific student learning outcomes in the short-term as well as in the long-term. A system for program evaluation is now in place. Future research is needed to develop a theoretical framework for data analysis. The research findings will inform best practices in education and training of our new generation, and  prepare them for lifelong learning.

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Acknowledgements

The CLAP-TECH Learning Pathway program was funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust [Grant numbers 2019-0155 and 2021-0336].