ICSS (International Creative Soundtrack Studies) is a strategic partnership aiming to develop a joint programme of music composition for audio-visual. The partnership consists of 4 institutions of higher education, each with its own expertise in teaching music composition for audiovisual and of 4 complementary professional partners whose main activity is focused on cinema and audio-visual arts with a particular interest in musical creation: CNSMDL, coordinator, and Institut Lumière in Lyon, School of Arts Hogent (KASK and conservatorium) and Film Fest in Ghent, Conservatorio GB Martini and Cineteca Italiana in Bologna, Music Faculty of the Montreal University and Films Denys Arcand in Quebec. Mostly before ICSS starts to develop the joint curriculum, it will make a study to expose the existing links between the musical and the audiovisual scenes on one hand and the education sector and professional structures in the field of music for audio-visual arts on the other hand. Besides the results shown in the report, this study will anyway be a success, by the simple, yet long-lasting effect of a strengthened cooperation between the educational institutes and the professional structures. ICSS is both powered by its intentions and objectives as by its innovative structure (the balance between educational institutions and professional structures; participation of School of Arts Hogent (KASK & Conservatorium), training musicians in their Conservatory and filmmakers in KASK; representation of the North American continent by Montréal University and Denys Arcand’s production company for their expertise and their specific network). The forthcoming programme will have indeed the quite unique peculiarity in the concerned area to concentrate its training on the cooperation between composers and directors. Thanks to the partnership, involved students will be immersed in a high standard international network. ICSS will bring together education with the professional world, so helping to enhance the employment of its alumni. The expertise of the partnership and the quality of the forthcoming joint programme resides in its members: leading figures of the international cinema scene as Bertrand Tavernier, Denys Arcand, Marco Bellochio, Dirk Brossé, Thierry Frémaux, researchers, teaching staff, highly skilled in music composition education and open to a large scale of possible experiments and administrative staff with the experiment and the expertise in European programmes and joint curricula. ICSS will organise educational and artistic projects, supervised by professional experts, which will allow to confirm choices and decisions taken during the development of the joint programme and to implement it. These activites will maintain and stregthen constantly the relations between the partners. The communication and dissemination schedule is very dense. The core will be a website with its diverse functions. Next to that, several events are planned during film festivals, known for their large audience and international dimension. In addition the various international networks, brought in by all partners, at both levels of education and film industry, will play a major role in this dissemination and communication plan. During the 3 years of the strategic partnership, ICSS will communicate on its curriculum in development with educational institutions (management teams, teaching staff, students) and with future potential employers. In this way, ICSS aims to recruit the best students of the world from the start of the joint program on and to share good practice which allows to improve existing curricula and to develop new ones. Calendar: Feb - Sept 2014 (preparation) = compilation of information, meeting of 5 of the involved partners in Ghent, application to the EU programme Academic year 2014-15 = study report on the relations between music and motion pictures, a round table and dissemination event n°1 in Film Fest Gent, creation of the website Academic year 2015-16 = publication of the study report, creative workshop n°1 in Bologna focused on the relationships directors/composers, student mobility, dissemination event n°2 during the Cineteca Bologna festival, development of the website Academic year 2016-17 = creative workshop n°2 in Lyon focused on the complete process of scoring and music production for motion pictures, student mobility, the dissemination event n°3 in FIFA Aubagne, development of the website, application for the joint programme ICSS to EU. Start of 2017 academic year = preparation of the European joint program and first phase of recruitment Start of 2018 academic year = first group of students