Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
Submitted by Josh Hatley on Tue, 12/11/2019 - 16:24
Featured in Cambridge Catalyst, ICE Academic Dr Alex Carter, discusses the importance of Creativity in the workplace, particularly as it's one of the few skills machines aren't currently able to replicate!
If you'd like to learn more about Creativity, applications are now open for our Undergraduate Diploma in Creativity Theory, History and Philosophy starting in January 2020. Act now to get your application in on time!
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It is broadly agreed the ‘Industrial Revolution 4.0’ is here: we have already seen the loss of quite a few traditional jobs, such as manufacturing, to robots, so where does this leave us humans? It appears we will be performing the complex ‘thinking’ jobs that cannot be automated. What this means is, in essence, a higher percentage of us than ever before will need to develop flexible and creative thinking to tackle a constantly shifting landscape. I have been developing a series of short courses at ICE to develop precisely the skills that will be in demand in the future: creative and abstract thinking. These courses will cover subjects such as the theory, history and philosophy of creativity, and they are courses aimed at anyone and everyone.
The World Economic Forum has recently identified those skills that will, in the near future, “form the competitive edge for any organisation”. Its report, Towards a Reskilling Revolution, lists the top three increasing skills as analytical thinking and innovation, active learning and creativity, and originality and initiative. The ICE courses will develop all three of these – not only with their content, but also in the way that adult students are taught through ‘active learning’, rather than more traditional ‘chalk and talk’ teaching.
While it is generally agreed creativity is not something you can teach, the good news is that, in my experience, a creative mindset is highly developable. It simply takes practice. As a theoretician and teacher, my involvement in developing these skills can only be half of the story. The other half must come from the students themselves. Working in adult education, I am continually impressed by my student’s readiness to develop a flexible mindset and challenge what they think they know. Recently, a student on one of my courses, a retired medic in his 70s, said to me: “I always thought the world was black and white, but after studying at ICE for two weeks, I’ve come to realise there are shades of grey!”.
I find it interesting that Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, was fond of saying his success was due to hiring artists and musicians fascinated by technology, rather than computer specialists. I think the imperative now is not simply to find ways of working with AI. We also need to see this as an opportunity for us to row as human beings. On the other hand, I am not immune to the threat AI poses: teachers have already begun to be replaced with scripted AIs. If I don’t want to find myself writing scripts for robots, I also need to stay agile. This plays no small part in my decision to develop courses in creativity theory and creative practice.
An example of the kind of conversations participants in the courses will engage in: students will consider Jackson Pollock’s approach to painting – that of creating through ‘abstinence’, ie not trying to paint, but rather letting the painting disclose itself. Novelists can also apply the same approach by standing back from the fictional characters they have created and let them develop of their own accord. Equally, a company director overseeing a new phase in their business might adapt the Pollock approach by not imposing objectives or strategies aimed at mitigating risk, because these same objectives might also delimit creativity. An alternative ‘risk strategy’ would be to embolden staff by building trust and by fostering an agile and responsive organisation.
As E M Forster puts it, creativity impels us to ‘leap before you look’. You still have to use your intelligence, but you needn’t rationalise every action before you commit to it. As I say, this takes trust – in oneself and one’s colleagues – but also in giving oneself ‘permission to fail’. Not every failure is a disaster, and we are most creative when our backs are against the wall. These courses at ICE are aimed at anyone who wants to understand and contribute to the rapidly changing world around them. They are suitable for people from all walks of life and all backgrounds: from those in the creative industries all the way through to those working in more process driven jobs, such as technology or scientific research.
The one thing that is certain is we are all creative, and we all have untapped potential.
For an overview of Creativity and its history, why not book now on this short course: A Short History of Creativity, 13-15 December.
We are also inviting applications for our new Diploma in Creativity Theory, History and Philosophy, starting in January, 2020. Act now to get your application in ahead of the deadline.
Anyone can attend, whatever their qualifications (or lack of them), and ICE prides itself on creating an encouraging atmosphere for all its students, whatever their background. There are over 250 high-quality, part-time and short courses throughout the year, which include University of Cambridge qualifications. ICE is characterised by friendly groups of committed students against the backdrop of the resources of one of the best universities in the world.
The early notion is of ‘creation’ as something coming only from God; fastforward to the Enlightenment to creativity as something done by a few ‘geniuses’; and then to the modern democratic concept, whereby anyone can be creative.
This theory, developed by Sally Hogshead, explains the key to any creative thinking process. The first stage of creative thinking is usually positive, with lots of ideas coming forth, followed by a stage of doubt and self-criticism. This is followed by the ‘slump’ or ‘throne of agony’. However, a second wind can be triggered if a new idea is introduced from left field – the odder the better – which can have the curious effect of sparking new ideas, often building on some of the earlier ones.
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This article was originally featured in Cambridge Catalyst, September 2019.
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