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Funding for a new digital installation where kids can explore future occupations

3 May, 2017 - 14:25

Norrköping's Research and Development Fund has granted funding to RISE Interactive, C-studio, in Norrköping together with The Museum of Work and Linköping University to develop a digital installation where children, parents and school classes can explore and discover future occupations.

In order to counteract the mismatch in the labor market, there is a need to reach out even earlier to children with information about different occupations. The labor market is developing rapidly and there are several forecasts that present future needs in 5-10 year in industry's for various skills. Study and career counselors as well as teachers are tasked with presenting this diversity of professions and the challenge has led to increased demands for new tools that facilitates the information to children and young people and tools that promote young individuals to make more sustainable choices that in turn will lead to fewer students dropping out of school.

-It's difficult to dream of a vocation if you don’t know it exists. Digital installations make it possible to package the information visually and interactively, which we believe is crucial for this target group and the project itself also contributes to expanding how digital interaction can be applied to engage audiences around socially important issues, says Madeleine Kusoffsky, interaction designer and project manager from C studio. 

The project will begin in August 2017 and continue until December 2018. Children, parents, teachers, study and career counselors as well as business representatives will be included in different stages of the design process. The finished result will be installed at The Museum of Work in Norrköping in early 2019.

- The strength of the project is that we also include significant adults as a target group, as they affect children's attitude and ideas about their future career choices and ambitions in school. We want to nurture the dialogue between children and adults through engaging experiences, that can be achieved through interactive visualizations, says Madeleine Kusoffsky from RISE Interactive in Norrköping.

The process for developing the visual content will include ways to combat gender stereotypes, be norm critical and take greater account of research that highlights the fact that how professions are presented affect how children are able to relate their own identity to a vocation and establish ambitions toward it.

Around 200,000 people visit The Museum of Work every year, a museum that has already achieved great success in raising awareness among young and adults in the issue of study and career choices, through an exhibition called Jobbcirkus. Two institutions at Linköping University in Norrköping will contribute to the project as well (MIT and ISAK) enabling the project to gain access - as well as contribute to - research in communication science and usability.

About Norrköping's Research and Development Fund

The Municipality of Norrköping established a fund for research and development in 2012. The fund is a venture for the future in collaboration with Linköping University, Campus Norrköping. Research grants can be given to research and development projects that contribute to achieving one or more of the fund's main purposes.

projects granted funding 2017

Out of 29 applications this year, 9 projects received funding. 

Partners

Arbetets Museum, Institutionen för samhällsutveckling och kultur and Medie och informationsteknik at Linköping University