Initiative Lead
Dublin City University

Primary Contact
Ciaran Dunne
Ciaran.dunne@dcu.ie

€60000

Enhancement across Disciplines

Creativity is central to our individual and collective well-being. It is a resource which has underpinned human survival and development and is key to our sustainable progress.
In recognition of the importance of creativity, as part of the current strategic plan, DCU has prioritised the goal of actively fostering across the university “a culture of creativity and, in particular, promote the exploration of possibilities arising at the intersections of the creative arts and technological innovation”. A key component of this is the establishment of an Institute of Creativity in DCU, which may be conceptualised as a ‘community of practice’. That is, as a group of individuals (staff, students etc.) who share a concern, interest or passion for something they do and, through regular interaction and collaboration, learn how to do it better (Schwartz-Bechet et al. 2012).
This T&L initiative will undertake activities aimed at promoting, nurturing and stimulating creative competence, confidence and expression among staff and students through
1. The design of a theory and practice-based curriculum for staff strongly informed by student input, which guides them in how to foster increased creativity within their teaching.
2. The design of the workshop learning experiences for staff and students that will include the development of a prototype of a custom-designed, pop-up, all-terrain ‘Creativity Cart’. This unique, mobile educational unit will comprise a wide variety of resources which lecturers can employ with their students with the aim of stimulating their creativity and increasing self-belief in their own creative competence.