Maria Rosaria Re’s Keynote

Museum Education for Professional Development: How to Use Heritage to Create Training Experiences for both Hard and Soft Skills

The role of museum heritage as an agent of social and economic development has been demonstrated in numerous studies and reports. Museum education plays a wide cultural and social role, aimed not only at stimulating the acquisition of specific content related to a museum and its collections, but at promoting the cultural sensitivity of museum users and of entire communities. Museums support and encourage the construction of inclusive narratives and memories, active and democratic co-participation in cultural activities, and a participatory life-long learning perspective. Museum contexts can also provide new opportunities for professional training experiences for the development of both hard and soft skills, such as information literacy, critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and digital skills.

In this talk, I will discuss effective uses of museum experiences for professional development and upskilling in various job categories, realized within different museum contexts and with different categories of professionals, and I will reflect on the educational co-design activities and other educational methodologies that were used in these experiences. Throughout the talk, I will discuss the current state of the art in museum education for professional development as well as some key challenges and opportunities for hard- and soft-skill development through heritage, especially from the perspective of promoting the cultural assets of communities.

About Dr. Maria Rosaria Re

Dr. Maria Rosaria Re is a Research Fellow, qualified as Associate Professor, in Experimental Pedagogy at the Dept. of Education, University Roma Tre as well as an Assistant Professor at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT). In 2020 she obtained a joint Ph.D. in "Culture, Education, Communication" from the University Roma Tre and the University of Foggia on the enhancement of Critical Thinking Skills in museum users. Her expertise concerns research education methodologies within formal and informal professional training contexts.

Dr. Re's most recent interests have been focused on the design of dual learning experiences, promoting soft skills and well-being for professional development through innovative digital technologies. She has been a member of the Centre for Museum Studies (University Roma Tre) since 2015, an EDEN Fellow (European Distance and E-Learning Network) since 2020, and a member of the scientific board of the INTELLECT Research Centre (Research Centre for Heritage Education, Wellbeing and Teaching Technology) since 2021.

She has taken part in several national and European research programs on the development of digital skills in the creative industry field and in the use of heritage as a well-being enhancer for medical professionals and caregivers, in the roles of both researcher and project manager. She is the author of several publications of national and international relevance on the topics of transverse skills promotion, assessment, and the use of technology in teaching and learning activities and in museum education at various levels.


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