Cory Doctorow: London's Ravensbourne College is creating a new program called the School of Computing for the Creative Industries. The whole of the coursewear is Creative Commons licensed and the school itself is organized via a wiki. That's pretty twenty-first-century education!

The School of Computing for the Creative Industries is a new departure for Ravensbourne College. It retains Ravensbourne's commitment to vocationalism and practical skills, as well as Ravensbourne's spirit of innovation and enterprise. Though the School takes its inspiration and values from the core of the Ravensbourne tradition, it also embraces new opportunities and a new vision. The School's programmes are rigorous with a strong technical focus. One of the undergraduate programmes is delivered entirely via e-learning. The other programmes make strategic use of e-learning, digital communications, and Web 2.0 technologies as a living demonstration of, and a process of practical research in, the subject matter of the School.

The learner-practitioner is the heart and life-blood of the School. We recognise that the creative professional of the future - the new creative - has a distinctive skill-set and an easy relationship with technology. The new creative is a connected citizen, whose passions and campaigns, ideas and innovations appear first on their blog. The new creative uses the internet as an inspirational resource, drawing on that vast, interconnected meme-pool, but returning far more to it than s/he ever withdraws. Fundamentally, the new creative understands that s/he is defined by the impact and credibility of their online presence.

As the creative industries bifurcate into the twin realities of intellectual property businesses, and crafts-for-hire, the new creative has the skill, and panache, to exploit the opportunities of the new creative landscape.

Dave!)