The starting point of the project Beyond Now++ is the growing demand for IT professionals alongside a declining interest among young people in STEM subjects. Girls and young women in particular often underestimate their technical abilities or fail to find a personal connection to informatics within traditional classroom settings. Informatics is frequently taught in isolation and with a strong focus on theory, lacking connections to everyday life or creative forms of expression.
BeyondNow++ therefore follows a new approach: informatics is not taught as an abstract school subject but experienced as a tool for creative expression. The project aims to inspire young people to engage with digital technologies, strengthen both their creative and technical skills, and open up new perspectives on future career opportunities. At the same time, key competencies such as spatial thinking, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and algorithmic understanding are fostered.
Within the project, students develop digital artworks, performances, or interactive installations while working with technologies such as artificial intelligence, mixed reality (XR), and interactive media systems. A special focus lies on low-threshold access: the technologies are designed to be intuitive without simplifying or concealing essential informatics concepts.
Project-based and co-creative learning are at the core of the initiative. Students work in interdisciplinary teams, learn fundamental programming and media skills, and realize their ideas together with experts from art, design, and informatics. Public presentations of the results — for example in exhibitions or performances — provide additional motivation and highlight digital technologies as a form of cultural expression.
The project is carried out by an interdisciplinary consortium: the MIREVI team at Hochschule Düsseldorf provides scientific leadership and contributes expertise in informatics and immersive technologies. The media company LAVAlabs Moving Images develops innovative media applications and supports technical implementation. The Fabien Prioville Dance Company contributes artistic perspectives and experience in digital performance. Together, the partners connect technological research, media production, and artistic practice.
BeyondNow++ pursues the long-term goal of establishing informatics as a creative cultural practice and engaging new target groups in digital competencies. The concepts developed within the project are intended to be sustainably applicable and transferable to additional schools and educational institutions.
The project is funded by:
EFRE/JTF Programme NRW 2021–2027 within the framework of the funding call “Pakt für Informatik 2.0”.
