Cluster

Career management

Target group

Members of the Doctoral Schools

Key words

Creative thinking, creativity, problem-solving, mindset, cognition, practical tools

Aim

In any context, people are required to establish practical, creative habits that allow them to innovate, solve problems and collaborate positively. Throw into that mix the fact that any PhD project is an exercise in problem solving and that every client pitch, funding bid or publication requires novelty, and its clear that people benefit from the ability to come up with new and workable ideas.

This highly interactive workshop is designed to equip participants with a number of tools and approaches for alleviating the pressure of problematic situations, generating new and insightful ideas and developing them into suitable ways forward. Our aim is to develop creative and confident people who can rely on their resourcefulness, creativity and skills to break new ground, to solve problems and to perform well.

Format

This event is a highly experiential, hands-on workshop – we won’t be lecturing or diving deeply into theory. We ask you to learn by practicing with the tools and methods we cover, and to apply them to real situations, so what you learn is immediately applicable, personal and memorable. Please come along ready to contribute and participate fully, thanks.

Programme

By the end of this workshop you will have:
1.    A simple and effective process for managing ideas and solving problems
2.    Several methods for easing the pressure of problematic situations
3.    Identified various factors that support creativity and resourcefulness
4.    Practiced a variety of tools to stimulate creativity and novel ideas
5.    Developed your ability to turn a broad idea into a workable plan
6.    Practiced offering critique in a constructive manner
7.    Applied all these to real situations

• Day 1

•    Introductions and context for the workshop
•    Working with perception, patterns and pressure
•    Opening a creative frame of mind
•    Moving from problems to solutions
•    Managing a creative process

• Day 2

•    Resilience
•    Creativity tools from blue skies to the fine details
•    Building a personal map of creativity
•    Review and keeping your creativity flowing

Time schedule & Venue

Registration fee

Free of charge for members of the Doctoral Schools

Registration procedure

Use the following registration link: https://webappsx.ugent.be/eventManager/events/creativethinking Your registration will be confirmed by separate e-mail from the Doctoral Schools.

If the course is fully booked, please send an email to doctoralschools@ugent.be and ask to be added to the waiting list by mentioning your student number and the course code of your choice.

Level

All PhD students; no previous knowledge required

Teacher

Dr Jamie McDonald (www.jmcd.co.uk)

Teaching and learning material

References to relevant resources will be given at the event and participants provided with handouts and worksheets to capture major inputs.

Teaching methods

Interactive workshop

Number of participants

18

Language

English

Evaluation methods and criteria (doctoral training programme)

Active participation