MASTER YOUR CREATIVITY

The Edward de Bono Institute has been rapidly gaining worldwide recognition as a hub of creativity and innovation, here in Malta. In lieu of this month’s focus on design and creativity, Dayna Clarke caught up with the innovative hub’s director, Dr Leonie Baldacchino.

As director and senior lecturer at The Edward de Bono Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking at the University of Malta, Dr Baldacchino has been lecturing on entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation since 2008. She holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from Warwick Business School (UK), an M.A. in Creativity and Innovation (Distinction) and a B.Psy.(Hons) from the University of Malta. Her academic research interests include the psychology of creativity and entrepreneurship; social, sustainable and inclusive entrepreneurship; and entrepreneurship education.

Can you tell us more about the Edward de Bono Institute?

The Edward de Bono Institute was set up at the University of Malta in collaboration with Professor de Bono in 1992. Initially, the Institute was concerned primarily with teaching his thinking tools and techniques but, over the years, we expanded and diversified our activities into four interrelated subject areas, namely creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and foresight (www.um.edu.mt/create).

How are the thinking tools and ideology of Edward de Bono implemented?

The Institute shares Edward de Bono’s view that creativity is a skill that can be learned and improved through practice. His thinking tools and techniques, including the Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking, as well as a variety of other models and methods, are taught and implemented in our courses through a blend of theory, research, hands-on group work and discussions. Students are often required to apply what they learn to real-life scenarios, for example, by generating ideas for new products or services, designing improvements to existing offerings, and solving problems faced by organisations.

What is on offer at the Edward de Bono Institute?

Today our Institute offers a Master in Creativity and Innovation, a Diploma in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a PhD research degree in the areas of Creativity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Foresight, and a variety of optional undergraduate study units.

The Master programme has been attracting local and international students from a broad base of disciplines for many years, and it has just been revamped in response to their feedback and recent advances in the field.

New study units include ‘Creative and Critical Thinking: Theory and Practice’, ‘Leadership for Managing Change and Innovation’, ‘Creativity and Innovation in the Cultural and Creative Industries’, and ‘Strategic and Entrepreneurial Decision-Making’ which will be delivered by a visiting lecturer from Lincoln International Business School (University of Lincoln, UK). This course also includes a Research Methods study unit and a supervised dissertation project, but students may opt to exit the programme without completing the dissertation. In such cases, they are awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Creativity and Innovation, provided that they have successfully completed the taught component (60 ECTS). This course is available both on a full-time and a part-time basis, with all lectures being held during daytime. The duration for full-time students is three semesters while that for part-time students is six semesters.

The Diploma is a part-time evening course, aimed at individuals who would like to further their education and improve their career prospects or entrepreneurial capabilities but are not able to attend full-time day courses due to other commitments. Lectures are held twice a week from 5 to 8 p.m. over a period of four semesters (i.e., two academic years).

Dr Leonie Baldacchino

The PhD offers qualified students the opportunity to specialise in one or more of the aforementioned subjects at Doctoral level. This course is offered both on a full-time and a part-time basis. The duration for full-time students is three to four years, while that for part-time students is six to eight years.

The optional undergraduate study units are offered to a wide variety of Faculties, Institutes and Centres at the University of Malta. They develop vital skills and attitudes that enable students to recognise opportunities and improve their future career options.

Opening doors for creativity

Students enrolled in our courses may benefit from a wide range of experiential learning opportunities through the many events and activities organised or supported by the Institute. These include the Global Entrepreneurship Week events in November, the World Creativity and Innovation Week events in April, and workshops with visiting academics from overseas.

Moreover, we organise regular off-campus visits to a variety of organisations to enable our students to observe how the principles and theories learned in class are applied in practice.

A whole team approach

Lectures are mainly delivered by the Institute’s five full-time resident academics (including myself), with some involvement of part-time lecturers. Together, we make up a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team with varied and complementary qualifications, expertise and research interests.

What do you feel the biggest barriers are to prospective students wishing to study in this area?

There seem to be some misconceptions among the public, including some employers, about what the Institute offers and what value our programmes have in relation to the workplace.

Many people associate creativity exclusively with the arts and are surprised when they are told that it may be found in any domain, including business. Others would agree that creativity is important in business but believe that it is the sole remit of those who work in creative industries or departments such as design, marketing or advertising. Creativity certainly plays a role in such contexts, but it is also relevant to all other kinds of departments, organisations and industries as it refers to the generation of ideas that are novel and useful in any setting.

Similarly, innovation is generally associated with science and technology, and is often believed to require breakthrough or radical change. However, innovation too may be found in all sectors and contexts, and it can derive from incremental improvements. Innovation refers to the implementation of creative ideas to introduce products, services, processes, systems, policies, work spaces and business models that are different from and better than what was available before. It is a necessary step in any creative process because ideas need to be developed and implemented if they are to lead to any effects.