Describe your collaborative partnership

Roskilde University (RUC) and Roskilde Festival have had a partnership in several projects during ten years. Main activities:

• Collaboration in the Musicon Valley project 2003-7. (www.musicon.dk)
• A particular collaboration between RUC and Roskilde Festival resulted in development of experienceresarch and education at the university and activities that researchers created at the festival (e.g. an IT-based computer game).
• The Roskilde Festival has been a partner in developing the education Performance Design at Roskilde University
• Common partnership in a large regional project on development of new food products and culture 2010.
• Common project 2010 on event management. Common education and development programs
• Managers from the festival are consultants and teachers in a MBA program on experience management at the university
• Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) at RUC and Roskilde Festival has developed Social Lab - Innovative Solutions to Combating Poverty.

Provide evidence of your success

The festival has introduced new innovative activities that is part of the festival's development process thus the festival can maintain its position as the most important rock festival in Northern Europe and - besides music - base this on social, practical and creative activities.

The festival organisation has also benefited in developing new activities such as event consulting and education programs. The university has benefited by using the festival as a innovation laboratory and the collaboration has led to new research and new educations and managers from the festival are teachers at the university. Roskilde community has benefited from the collaboration.

The festival and the university play a main role in the municipality's development of Musicon - an industrial development area based on experience economy and creative businesses. For further information, www.musicon.dk.

Why is your collaboration special and not a typical client-customer relationship?

The collaboration has lasted long time and been based on several common innovation and development projects. The relation between the university researchers and teachers and the festival organisation is extensive; researchers creates activities at the festival and the festival organisation in collaboration with the festival organisation and managers from the festival are teachers at the university. Special for this relation is both partner's participation in local and regional industrial development. Representatives from both partners meet in development committees and are involved in local and regional development activities based on culture and experience economy.

The collaboration is not only about business, but the emphasis on social innovation fits with the festival’s humanitarian focus.

Websites

• Studio / Agency: www.roskilde-festival.dk
• Client: www.ruc.dk / www.ruc.dk/cse