Theater-based training for supporting innovations in enterprises
TheNova
The further training of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an important factor that contributes to the development of employee potential and thus the innovative strength of companies. In order to promote this potential in the 25 million SMEs in Europe, good and inspiring personnel training is required. Unattractive training formats and a lack of empathy among trainers often lead to a lack of interest in further training measures among SME employees. There is an obvious need for innovative approaches and tools for designing employee training.
Goals and contents
THE NOVA project relied on the potential of the creative industry and aimed to integrate various performative and theater-based methods into the design and implementation of further training measures specifically for SMEs. In order to achieve this, the main protagonists, i.e. internal and external SME trainers, first had to acquire innovative knowledge transfer techniques. To this end, the project developed a theater-based training program for SME trainers under the direction of actors and dramaturges and tested it in an intensive workshop. In the next step, trained SME trainers created their own workshop scenarios with meaningful theater methods and offered them to their clients (personnel in SMEs) as part of personnel training. Successful applications of the interplay between theater and science were documented in the form of learning videos and made available online free of charge with the aim of imitation and further development.
In the long term, the project should make a significant contribution to modernizing trainer training, strengthening the innovation potential of SMEs and developing new types of cooperation models between SMEs, the creative industries and training providers.
“Particularly in professional development, where issues such as diversity management, team building, conflict management and inclusion are becoming increasingly important due to structural changes in the workforce, performative methods of knowledge transfer have decisive advantages over traditional forms. In this respect, we are where e-learning was about 25 years ago. People can see the potential, but it will be years before we see widespread adoption. Once that happens, science theater will be as common as e-learning is today. And combining the media representation of knowledge with its performative presentation opens up completely new worlds of knowledge.”
Prof. Dr. Christoph Brake, FHM Professor für Medientechnologie und Management
Project Results
The training program aimed to enable SME trainers to use theater-based techniques when designing and conducting training for company employees. The content of this train-the-trainer program was derived, on the one hand, from the needs analysis for trainers conducted at the beginning of the project. On the other hand, the RHENANIA network of actors provided relevant inputs as to which theater and performance methods could be used by the SME trainers and thus included in the program. The program was validated in a pilot project for 12 SME trainers from the participating THENOVA institutions.
Now the training program, including the teaching concept, is available for free for adoption and further use by other training providers or individual SME trainers.
You can download the training program in the language of your choice!
Trained SME trainers from THENOVA partner institutions designed and conducted 25 theater-based training sessions that addressed various topics related to the work and communication processes of SMEs. The trainers were free to choose the topics, but the challenge was to develop suitable training scenarios and to convey them to their clients using theater and performance methods! A total of 220 employees from Austrian, German, Greek and Polish companies took part in these pilot training sessions.
The THENOVA trainers have collected the descriptions of their training scenarios, including the lessons learned from their implementation and evaluation, and made them available free of charge to interested parties. These descriptions could be very helpful for SME trainers who want to learn from their colleagues and innovate their own training scenarios.
You can download the descriptions of the THENOVA pilot training courses in the desired language.
Most of us have had, have or will have a connection to the labor market, be it as an employee, manager, intern, trainee or whoever. Surely we have wondered at some point how to effectively organize work in teams, resolve conflicts, give feedback or conduct a successful job interview?
A series of short educational videos developed by the THENOVA team present typical situations that we may encounter in the workplace in an entertaining way. These videos do not aim to provide the audience with ready-made recipes or instructions. Rather, we want you to reflect on the characters and situations presented, compare them with your own experiences, try out some exercises and ultimately change your behavior in the workplace for your own benefit and that of your company!
A total of 30 learning videos were recorded, edited and made available to a wider audience in the form of OERs via the THENOVA YouTube channel.
These OERs can be used in different ways: they can perfectly enrich the IO1 theater-based training program and thus facilitate the adoption of the program by other educational institutions. However, they can also be used as stand-alone learning resources by trainers, employees or even the general public.
The videos were originally produced in the national languages of the tHENOVA partners and subtitled in English to ensure the best possible dissemination.
The duration of each video is between 5–10 minutes.
Click on the button below and discover the complete THENOVA playlist!
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