This book investigates the possibilities for partnerships between universities and museums, especially in relation to their potential for generating innovative patterns of research and learning. The authors examine how to enable more effective and creative connections between museums and higher education. They identify conceptual and practical barriers and consider current academic models, arguing that as pressures mount on public educational resources worldwide, there needs to be an urgent increase in the exchange of knowledge and the forging of world-class scholarly partnerships. Examples of research undertaken internationally offer best practice models for collaboration and integration.

Preface:; Background; Digital Impact; Social Value; Implications; Opportunities for Higher Education; Steps Ahead; Part I Policy, Pedagogies and Possibilities; Introduction, Catherine Speight, Anne Boddington, Jos Boys; Part II Strategic Alliances, Knowledge Exchange and Opportunities; Chapter 1 Learning Activities, Learning Outcomes and Learning Theory, Stephen Brown; Chapter 2 Internships in Museum Studies: Learning at the Interface, Elizabeth A. Beckmann; Chapter 3 Understanding the Distributed Museum: Mapping the Spaces of Museology in Contemporary Culture, Susana Smith Bautista, Anne Balsamo; Chapter 4 Learning at the Interface: The Museum as Public Laboratory, Richard Watermeyer; Part III Curating, Collecting and Creative Practices; Chapter 5 Keeping Good Company: Art Schools and Museums, Sarah Ganz Blythe; Chapter 6 Curating Emerging Design Practice, Gareth Williams; Chapter 7 Artist-Led Curatorial Practice: Mediating Knowledge, Experience and Opinion, Tracy Mackenna, Edwin Janssen; Part IV Expectations, Assumptions and Obstructions; Chapter 8 'Museums and Galleries? No Thanks, Not For Me.' A Critical Review of Attitudes to Museum and Gallery Visits among University Students on an Education Degree Programme, Carrie Winstanley; Chapter 9 Tales from the Coalface, Leanne Manfredi, Rebecca Reynolds; Chapter 10 Enhancing Observational Skills: A Case Study. Collaboration between a University Art Museum and Its Medical School, Linda K. Friedlaender; Chapter 11 Object-Based Learning: A Powerful Pedagogy for Higher Education, Leonie Hannan, Rosalind Duhs, Helen Chatterjee; Chapter 12 Conclusion, Jos Boys, Anne Boddington, Catherine Speight; Afterword Afterword;