The mentoring process during the MUSAE Residencies accompanied teams through all phases of the residency, adapting to the needs of the team in each of these phases. As the first and second MUSAE residencies had different objectives, the mentoring process was adapted differently to each of the phases

MUSAE 1st Residency – Scenario Building

As the First Residency had a less technical approach with the objective to create a future scenario, the team was structured with an Artist in Residence supported by mentors on three different domains: Art&Design, Tech and Food&Nutrition.

The goal of the mentoring process was to familiarize the team with the DFA Method, while assessing the progress within the Residency framework. 

Thus, the following meetings were held:

Art mentoring 1:1 meetings, Throughout the collaboration artist(s) meet their mentors on a recurrent basis to share the progress on the conceptualization and to exchange ideas about the potentiality of the concepts explored. The agenda of each meeting is decided by the art mentor, who also leads all the meetings.

Plenary meetings For the MUSAE project we added another type of meeting called “Plenary Sessions”. During these sessions all the Artists in Residence have a joint meeting together with all the mentors once a month. This helps to promote the exchange among the participants  and to have a cross-look at other teams to inspire themselves.

All the meetings and activities conducted are included in the Individual Mentoring Plan the artist has to submit at the start of the collaboration. Outlining clearly all the different activities and dates at the start of the project ensures a solid framework to support and implement all activities 

MUSAE 2nd Residency – Prototype building

Conceived to develop a prototype, this phase of the DFA method has more of a technical focus, including an SME in the team. Thus, the Team is structured on an equal basis on Art and Tech, as follows:

The goal of the mentoring process was to familiarize the team with the DFA Method, while assessing the progress within the Residency framework. 

For this purpose, different meetings with a specific focus are held during the mentoring process, with the following structure:

Core team meetings, every month. In these meetings, the whole core team (mentors + artist +SME) takes part, which helps keeping everyone aligned with the goals of the project and to share insights on the findings made by the team. 

Art mentoring 1:1 meetings, bi-weekly. Artist(s) meet with their art mentors to share the progress on the conceptualization and to exchange ideas about the potentiality of the concepts explored. The agenda of each meeting is decided by the mentor, who also leads all the meetings.

Tech mentoring 1:1 meetings, bi-weekly. The SME meets with their tech mentor to raise any questions regarding the state- of-the-art and the l feasibility of the concepts explored. The agenda of each meetings decided by the mentor, who also leads all the meetings.

For the MUSAE project we added in addition to the  the core team meetings  a bilateral 1:1 meeting on food and nutrition mentoring, where the team could discuss  food trends with a food expert.

All the meetings and activities conducted throughout this mentoring process are included in the Individual Mentoring Plan each team has to submit at the start of the collaboration process.