Artisanal Idea Generation as a Creative Method in Higher Education

Abstract

AbstractAs people's level of education increases, we can see a decrease in their creative abilities. This creativity, although is innate in human beings, can be developed and worked on. The use of new technologies implies in turn an abandonment of manual or craft skills, losing in this area a very relevant possibility of creative development. Most of the methods that are usually used to generate ideas are related to oral and written conceptualization, but manual ideation is practically not contemplated. This study proposes a methodology for generating ideas based on traditional ideation from the physical creation of models as part of the creative process. This methodology has been used with satisfactory results in 38 courses at the Industrial Organisation School (Spain), with 382 people between 18 and 30 years of age participating in the study. It is a fact that companies are showing more and more interest in developing the creative capacity of their employees as a key to innovation. This new approach can also benefit many students, and for this reason it is recommended for use in engineering degrees, where the development of creative skills can have a significant impact on later career development.KeywordsCreativityIdeationHands-on creationInnovationModelingPrototyping