AES Holds 50th International Conference with Focus on Audio Education

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is holding its 50th International Conference, dedicated specifically to audio education, July 25-27, 2013, at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The three-day conference will focus on teaching methods, instructional resources, learning outcomes, technical operations, industry relations, and related topics that impact the theoretical and practical aspects of professional audio education. The conference will bring together leading educators and professional audio industry representatives to exchange ideas and knowledge that will contribute to improving quality and effectiveness for students and faculty alike. For the first time, the event will also include a significant focus on live sound as a component of a pro audio education curriculum, a fact underscored by the event's keynote address delivered by Bob McCarthy, director of system optimization at Meyer Sound.

In recent decades, audio education has expanded significantly worldwide, with many colleges and universities, career institutes, high schools, and manufacturers now offering a wide range of courses and training in professional audio. There are practical questions that administrators and faculty face managing audio as a discipline within educational institutions. For example, what skill sets should students develop and what career options can they pursue? What are the practical and financial implications of acquiring, installing, and maintaining necessary equipment and infrastructure? How does the popularity of distance learning affect audio education? What role can audio education play in local artistic and economic initiatives and community development?

More than 120 educators and industry representatives from around the world will address these and other questions through a focused series of presentations, papers, workshops, case studies, and discussions. The conference results will include a collection of over 30 formal papers, historical documents, survey instruments, and potential recommendations for educational resource management and development. In addition, eight workshops and tutorials will focus on topics including pedagogy, curriculum design, and instructional resources; internships, employment, and career counseling; partnerships with industry and professional organizations, learning outcomes and academic standards, accreditation, and program administration.

"AES members who are in academia and industry share a similar passion for strengthening the range and quality of educational resources associated with audio engineering," states Bill Crabtree, conference co-chair and associate professor in the department of recording industry at MTSU. "We expect that this conference will have a lasting and positive effect on pro audio education programs at all types of schools going forward."