Editorial

Citation

Gimson, A. and Taatila, V. (2012), "Editorial", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 26 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2012.08126faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 26, Issue 6

It seems to be a globally shared view that we need more creativity and innovation - to renew and conceive products, services, processes and even societies in new and innovative ways in a spiral of constant development. To accomplish this, we need to generate many more capable and active “entrepreneurially minded” people, able and willing to share their creative thinking and accomplishments with their fellow beings.

How, then, should we create these creators? How should we nurture their growth into innovation? How to allow them to accumulate the required skills without killing their enthusiasm and inspiration? What are the tools and approaches to be used for their formal education and, furthermore, can the educational process itself create new innovations?

This special issue of the journal attempts to answer these questions and presents a range of views from research-based theories through to very practical hands-on tools and frameworks. The articles originated from the fourth international “Learning by Developing – New Ways to Learn” conference organized in Finland by Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The theme of the conference in April earlier this year was “Creativity in Higher Education”. Several of the articles are also based on the findings of a multinational research project “Creative Activities in Learning for Innovation” (CAL4INO), financed by the European Union’s Life-Long Learning Program.

The selected articles approach the questions from different angles and provide a rich mixture of ideas and techniques. However, the following “common rules” for developing creativity and innovation seem to be shared within them all:

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  encourage learners to take initiative and responsibility;

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  allow learners to share their tasks and learning processes in social encounters;

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  force learners to move outside their comfort zones; and

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  learning should take place in authentic development situations, i.e. solving real-life problems with real people and real consequences.

While the first three points have been widely accepted within prevailing publications as forming a core for the effective learning of creativity, the fourth point, the need for authenticity in learning situations, has played a more silent tune. However, it may be the most important ingredient as ensuring that any vehicle for learning is as authentic as possible can benefit the learners in several ways.

First, these authentic situations show that real problems can rarely be solved within one discipline. Finding optimal solutions requires a wider range of perspectives. Second, they unveil the importance of negotiation and social sales skills; it is not always the “best” solution that gets selected but the one that makes the most acceptable compromise. Third, they function as a powerful motivator for the learners. Traditional lectures (as well as case-studies) depend mainly on strong, intrinsic motivation for the subject per se. Working on real issues, a student can create the results of the development task personally without the background presence of text book solutions or trying to guess the “right answer” as owned by the teacher.

We hope that the following articles will give you food for thought and encourage you to create your own innovative solutions.

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  Does open innovation create a competitive advantage?

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  Innovate or die: deal or no deal for Brazilian firms and their R&D.

Maybe the best way to approach the presented cases is to think them through and then try them out in your own organizations – to see personally what works and what does not. And if you are then moved to share your experiences, we would love to hear from you.

Anne GimsonBased at Strategic Developments International, UK. anne@stratdevint.com

Vesa Taatila Vice Rector at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki, Finland

About the Guest Co-Editor

Dr Vesa Taatila (PhD) is Vice Rector of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland. He is also Adjunct Professor of innovation pedagogy at the University of Turku, Finland. Previously, he has worked in both industry and academia, most notably as Principal Lecturer of Innovation Management at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, as well as executive positions in HR and competence management at multinational corporations Metso Oyj and Sonera Oyj. In addition, he has been a board member of, investor in, and mentor to several start-up companies. His main area of interest is putting new innovations into action, either through changes within existing organizations or by establishing new players in the market place.