Applied creative thinking is increasingly important in all walks of life. Whether it be the Arts, Science, Engineering, Business, or Politics, new and smarter ways of doing things are always in demand. Some people perceive that creativity is genetic, but there is significant research and practical evidence to confirm that a person's creativity can be improved by changes to the environment, mental state, and learned skills. This course is designed to provide an insight into how we can improve creativity in the workplace, giving a framework for the management of the creative process that doesn't rely on luck or chance discoveries.
The course is divided into six modules for the students to discover creative techniques, understand them, and apply them to an environment they are familiar with. In this way, they can test the ideas and critically review their effectiveness in an environment that is known/has a known history. To improve the learning outcomes, students will form groups of 2-3 people to discuss their own learnings and the results of their application. These can be compared and contrasted with other students' experiences to boost knowledge.
The modules are spread over the 12-week course, so a module should be completed every two weeks. At the midpoint of each module, there will be an online tutorial to answer any questions students have on the materials, their application experiences, for wider discussions, and for students to give feedback on any insights they have gained. The topics for the modules are:
1. Introduction to Applied Creative Thinking, creativity and problem solving
2. People, teams, and bias
3. Systems thinking, and the Theory of Constraints
4. TRIZ, SCAMPER and other systematic approaches
5. Lateral thinking and Idea generators
6. Facilitation, solving problems, and review
Delivery is via online materials, discussion groups, and tutorials. Attendance at tutorials is not mandatory but is highly encouraged to cement the learning. Contribution to tutorials and discussion boards forms part of the student assessment.
Students are expected to undertake considerable additional work per week reading, contributing to discussions, and completing assignments.