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School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences

Innovation and creativity

lightbulbs colliding

Overview: Creativity and Innovation in an uncertain world

Novel ideas are rarely the result of a lone genius working in isolation; instead, they usually develop from knowledge already available in the world from a variety of sources produced by people working together. Transforming ideas into innovations require coordinated effort from many people and for them to be successful, social networks, connectivity, in context are key. World problems such as climate change and pandemics push us to collaborate to innovate under very uncertain and unforeseen conditions. Consequently, to understand and promote a more creative society, we need to understand the role of social interactions on creativity and how they can better enable innovation under varying degrees of uncertainty. Our goal is to discover the basic neural mechanisms, develop and test new interdisciplinary strategies in collaborative creativity.

Key Questions:

  • What are the neural, genetic and social correlates of cooperation? How do they develop throughout the lifespan?
  • What makes some individuals more successful in collaborative innovations?
  • What is the role of diversity in collaborative creativity?
  • How does uncertainty affect collaborative innovation?
  • How do social networks affect the acceptance of novel ideas in society?
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