For PhD students and postdocs
For graduate students and emerging researchers, the book and/or workshops aid development of essential skills in your research practice. The abilities provide a concrete roadmap of what to do when feeling “stuck,” thereby empowering you as a scholar and minimizing the need for protracted learning by trial and error. They can help you better manage your time and energy, come up with more innovative research ideas, address challenges in your research process, and manage your emotions and well-being.
“I think [Creativity in Research] is a great exercise in stepping back and taking a fresh look at research problems — something that is very helpful in PhD work, but often hard to do when you are in the thick of the research. ”
For researchers
For experienced researchers, the book and/or workshops will help you develop conscious recognition of the successful strategies you already use to build creativity, which can increase your ability to use these strategies more effectively. You’ll also find many new techniques to experiment with in your own research practice.
“Research is an inherently creative pursuit. For all of the valuable skills I learned from my adviser and lab group in grad school, however, creativity skills were not among them. I was fearful of making mistakes and failing to generate original ideas. This book offers a set of practices to help researchers play with their ideas and work with their emotions and energy. Cultivating these mindsets and skills has helped me become a happier and more productive scientist.”
For mentors and advisors
For mentors and advisors of students and postdocs, the book provides concrete guidance on ways you might mentor the creative abilities in your students. You can also use the book as the foundation for a more structured curriculum for a lab group or doctoral seminar.
“As an English professor, I’m always searching for ways to help my students get excited about what they’re writing and researching. I want the work they’re doing in the classroom to matter long after the class has ended. “Research as Design” offered me new ways of thinking about what actually motivates us to stay engaged in our work. Mapping out a clear process of wayfinding, Anja and Sebastian helped me see the various challenges students face, often feeling isolated and disconnected from their larger purpose. This workshop demonstrated how communities of shared purpose can provide thoughtful feedback and perspective that moves us closer toward completing our goals. I’m excited to use these techniques to improve my own research and to help inspire students to produce their best work. ”
For directors of doctoral programs
For faculty or administrators who are interested in turning this curriculum into a course or workshop, our book provides ideas for adapting the curriculum to meet your needs. Specific themes for these curricula include developing innovative research content, managing emotions and human needs, building productivity, and interdisciplinary teamwork.
We have been running Creativity in Research workshops since 2011. The workshop format is flexible in terms of timing, ranging from 1-day to 5-day versions, and emphasize different content depending on your goals. Examples are “Research as Design” (Stanford University), “Design Thinking for Research” (Swiss Summer School) or “The Productive PhD” (African Doctoral Academy). The audience can be focused (e.g., PhD students in a particular field) or more generic to anyone associated with research. Feel free to get in touch by email through: workshop@creativityinresearch.org.