CreativeMatch.org is a browser-based platform designed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and networking among students, teachers and researchers from European Art Universities. You could think about it as a speed-dating system to find potential artistic and academic collaborators abroad. Through gamified and structured online protocols, the platform enables users to connect, brainstorm, and co-create projects in short, guided inter- actions. The main focus of the project is to connect like minded individuals, and foster creati- ve exchange.

How does it work?

1. UserRegistrationandProfiles

• Users log in using their institutional email and create a profile during their first visit.
• Profiles include research interests, expertise areas, and tags (e.g., “composition,” “sensors,” or “graphic scores”) to guide matchmaking

2. Interaction Dynamics

CreativeMatch.org is designed to provide structured exchanges. Sessions are framed around protocols (predefined sequences of tasks that guide the interaction). One example of the first protocol to be implemented can be found in this paper I published with some colleagues on interdisciplinary academic collaboration: https://www.journalofplayinadulthood.org.uk/arti- cle/id/875/

Characteristics of the user experience:

• Introduction Phase: Participants enter a waiting room before being paired with a col- laborator from a different institution.

• Task Sequence: Each protocol includes a series of timed tasks (e.g., 20 seconds to introduce yourself, followed by a creative exercise). A virtual “host” manages the ti- meline, transitioning participants from one task to the next automatically.

• Creative Tools: The platform offers tools for interaction as part of the protocols, such as: • Simple gamiified interactions: Users can experiment with different interaction dynamics like the shadowing paradigm or synchronisation exercises • Collaborative Tools: Shared whiteboards for brainstorming, graphical score creation, or mind maps. • Media Generators: Tools to create outputs like MIDI files, sketches, or musical scores • Timed Video Conference

• Chat
• Protocol instructions in written form.

3. Use Cases for Protocols

Protocols are flexible and cater to diverse needs:

Educational Exercises: Teaching tools for interdisciplinary collaboration and social interaction dynamics.

Quick Networking: Short sessions for users to meet colleagues and exchange ideas.

Project Ideation: Sessions to co-design projects or brainstorm solutions to artistic re- search questions.