Mélanie Lalieu on a mission to Quebec

This mission, supported by WBI and hub.brussels, helped to consolidate strategic partnerships, open up new prospects for cooperation in the fields of digital technology and mediation, and fuel numerous ideas for future projects for the MaCCS Master's programme and IHECS.

Trois-Rivières: consolidating the university partnership

Mélanie Lalieu's mission began at the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (UQTR), where discussions confirmed the shared desire to continue collaboration between our two institutions, particularly with regard to student mobility and research projects.
Discussions were particularly fruitful with the Department of Leisure, Culture and Tourism Studies, whose practical and experimental approach resonates particularly well with that of the MaCCS Master's programme. This meeting also opened up new mobility opportunities in Brussels for UQTR students, who will soon be able to discover the working methods of the IHECSLab and how communication is seen there as a lever for social and cultural action.
Other topics also emerged, including a shared interest in research on the use of artificial intelligence in higher education.
Finally, Mélanie Lalieu took the opportunity to meet Marine Demoulin and Alexandra Nickels, two of the three MaCCS Master's students currently on mobility at UQTR.

Montreal and MTL Connecte: digital technology with a human face

The mission then continued in Montreal, at the heart of the MTL Connecte festival, an event dedicated to digital transformation and cultural innovation. Mélanie attended several conferences on the rehumanisation of digital technology, the contribution of artists to innovation and forms of creative resistance to generative technologies.

She also had the opportunity to speak at the workshop "Brussels, between digital transformation and collective resilience," alongside creative.hub from hub.brussels. She presented the vision of the MaCCS Master's programme, based on the articulation between theory and practice and on communication as a lever for social and civic transformation.

It was an opportunity to present two initiatives related to the theme of this digital week:

• IHECSLab, a space for experimentation and mediation, illustrated this year by the project "Popularising science and culture" at the Brussels Sewer Museum;
• And the Cultural and Digital Mediation course, which explores how digital technology can become a tool for cultural inclusion and discoverability.

The presentation also highlighted IHECS' involvement in European and Brussels ecosystems linked to digital transitions, notably through the European Commission's Pact for Skills and collaborations with Creative Hub and hub.brussels.

In conclusion, one sentence in particular struck a chord with the audience:

"What we want to convey to our students is that, despite the power of digital tools, culture and education remain first and foremost a matter of people, meaning and connection."

An inspiring and reassuring mission

Mélanie Lalieu said of the trip: "Between institutional exchanges, professional meetings and informal discussions, this mission both inspired and reassured me: our educational approaches and our understanding of digital issues are fully in line with current international debates.
Discussions with hub.brussels and Montreal stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries also provided an opportunity to reflect on the role of mediation in innovation, both as a driver of social cohesion and creativity."

Beyond partnerships and future projects, this trip confirmed that IHECS, through its vision and practices, is one of the players actively participating in cultural and digital transitions.