B Sc programmes in Computer Science or Biotechnology or Electronics are programmes that most universities and colleges offer, but ever heard of a B Sc programme in Creative Sciences? Raises the eyebrow, doesn’t it? A programme like this catches one’s eye for at least two reasons: 1. The association of ‘creativity’ with ‘science’ and 2. The novelty of the Programme. Is ‘creativity’ a ‘science’? For a long time the process of creation and creativity has been shrouded in mystery. We do get poets like Coleridge and William Blake who in some of their poems try to understand the how, what and why of creativity. They generally take it to a mystical level and succeed in making the process more difficult to understand. Perhaps they have their reasons. But the Creative Sciences programme is of the firm belief that creativity is a matter of ‘ideas’ and can be cultivated.
Putting it slightly differently, creative individuals are not necessarily born but with careful nurturing, can be made and there is nothing mysterious about the process, and that ideas can be commonplace. For instance, take a look at how the logo of an eaten apple has become one of the most instantly recognized symbols. Did you know that Ray Janoff, an art director, decided upon the symbol when eating an apple? He closely observed the eaten apple and what he saw became the symbol of one of the most successful companies. And ‘Macintosh’, Apple’s series of personal computers, is a type of apple. All it took was an idea triggered off by a commonplace activity!
Creativity today means thinking up of new things and innovation is doing new things.Another ‘urban legend’ that has been doing rounds and which has been widely debated is this ‘story’:In 1960s, at the height of the Space Wars, NASA had a major problem. The astronauts who would be put in space required pens that would work in zero-gravity. As much as 1.5 million dollars was spent in developing an astronaut’s pen.Though it was successful in space, it hardly had any success back on earth. The Russians too were confronted with the same problem. And what did they use? Guess…?A Pencil!!!!And if that’s not enough for you, see the zoozoo ads and what they did to Vodafone. An idea ansformed the fortunes of the company in India. Is it any wonder then Abhishek Bachchan keeps insisting that we get an idea?Novelty of the Programme: It is common enough to come across programmes in Journalism, Mass Media, Mass Communication, Advertising and Visual Communication, but a programme like B Sc in Creative Sciences has never been heard of in India! So how is the Creative Sciences Bachelor’s degree programme different from these programmes? To begin ith, Mass Media and Mass Communication Courses that are currently offered tend to focus on principles and modes of communication and study films, TV and print as media with an emphasis on their history, production process and technologies. The courses on Advertising show a strong marketing orientation and invariably focus on market, brand and channel communications. And the Visual Communication programme is heavily tilted towards graphic design and art development. These programmes are limited in their reach in that they fail to organically connect mass media, communication with designing and visual communication with advertising and marketing. iNurture’s BSc in Creative Sciences provides the RIGHT blend to create a thorough “Creative Professional”.What distinguishes the Creative Sciences programme is its emphasis on ideation and innovation. In fact the entire programme is woven around the acquisition of these two core skills.
‘Ideation’ can be understood as a process and act by which ideas are generated. The programme recognizes the need for nurturing and developing ideas which most existing programmes don’t. The movie 3 Idiots brings out this deficincy in our education system very tellingly.The Creative Sciences programme aims to prepare students for a creative and satisfying career as creative directors, creative managers and creative professionals in the fields of media,advertising, brand management. In other words, the curriculum, designed by two senior industry professionals with a combined experience of over 60 years, aims to transform a creative student into a commercially successful creative professional.Where is the scope? Just take a look at these statistical projections made by the official Government of India reports: a large percentage of India’s population, in fact 60 percent according to the census report, will be made up of young people – people less than 28 years in the next 10-15 years and the trend is likely to stay that way for at least another 30 years. Add to this the rising income levels which are expected to register a growth of 15 percent on year on year basis during the period. Now, put the two together. What is the inference? India will be a ‘young’ country with high disposable income. This will lead to an unprecedented spurt in demand in leisure and entertainment sectors which will automatically create an enormous demand for creative professionals. Thus Ad and Design houses, Media – Print, Radio,Television, Electronic and Web, Market Research organizations, to mention only a few, would readily welcome students with the Creative Sciences degree.
A recent article that appeared in The Economic Times (How do Google, Renault, KFC & Lenovo make use of innovation labs?) brings out how desperately organizations require creative professionals and the extent to which they go to infuse the creative culture in their organizations. They set up ‘Innovation Labs/Centres’, ‘ Creative Labs’ and mark some days of the year or month as ‘Innovation Days’ with the express intention of promoting out-of –thebox ideation and thinking – what, in other words, may be called creative business problem solving. All organizations today realize that concentrating on creativity is the best investment they can make and are convinced that new ideas and innovation are what will keep them going. To quote from the article ‘…the wave of innovation labs sweeping across companies has sent packing traditional-style R&D systems where scientists and engineers came from Mars and marketers from Venus.
Today, they work on the same planet, or at leastin the same solar-system…Together, hierarchy tossed aside, they tinker and toy with ideas and answers with people and offices committed to creativity in areas ranging from product creation to market strategy’.The design of the B Sc Creative Sciences programme, apart from honing the creative skills, ensures a constant industry interaction.
This is done by involving industry practitioners through out the six semesters by the way of guest lectures, carefully designed assignments and projects. The students get high quality exposure that surely will make them absolutely industry ready. Who is the Programme created for? A large percentage of our student population is intelligent, knowledgeable, curious and hardworking but these young boys and girls don’t fit into the conventional education mould. These youngsters who are passionate about and have unusual interests in such subjects like art, music, dramatics, literature etc. are people dominated by the right side of their brains The existing conventional system tends to favour students who score high marks in subjects like Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry which supposedly unlocks the magic gate not only to the professional courses like Engineering and Medicine but also lucrative careers. This kind has its left side of the brain dominating.
Psycho biologists inform us that the human brain has two sides or two hemispheres: left and the right. The two sides, we are told, control different bodily functions including ways of thinking. The left part of the brain that controls the right side of our bodies is chiefly concerned with logical thinking, facts and figures. The right part of the brain controls the left side of our bodies and is the artistic side. This side facilitates ‘thinking’ in terms of pictures and feelings. In other words, each side plays a specific role and sees the world differently. This is a possible answer to the question: why do we all not see and understand things the same way? Diana Winstanley in her book Personal Effectiveness suggests a simple test to help us understand which part of our brain dominates.
Try this exercise; your response to it could say something about you:Imagine that it is the birthday of a niece or a nephew or a small child you know well.You have given this child a model ‘adventure island’ as a present. What you hadn’t realized is that this model comes in a kit form with several parts. The kit includes step-by-step written instructions, a list of contents, and a picture of the completed model (on the front of the box). The child asks you to help make up the kit for them. Briefly describe the steps you would take to build the model.
There are several ways in which this activity can be approached and your approach, as mentioned earlier, could indicate which side of the brain is dominant in you. For example, if you approached the model methodically and checked to see if you had every piece and followed the instructions as they are laid down,you are more likely left-brain dominant. On the other hand, if you ignored the instructions and simply began to put the pieces together using the picture on the box as a guide, you may be right-brain dominant. A right-brain dominant person will usually add to and improve on the model, by, say for instance, using flowers, leaves, colour paper or any material readily available in this case.
Having a dominant side does not mean that we are unable to use the other hemisphere, but the one that dominates will have the greater influence on how we tackle things and approach life in general. There may also be several external factors that could have encouraged us to develop one side more than the other.
Schooling, for instance, may have placed more emphasis on left-brain subjects. Society too, as well as people around us, will have an influence.If you believe you have a way of doing things that is different from how others do it, and feel that you wish to do something different from what a majority of students do, and then iNurture’s B Sc Creative Sciences Programme is for you.
Remember: an idea, however strange, has the potential to transform your life, your fortunes and the world.Check out the website: http://inurture.co.in Here’s wishing you all the best and hoping you make the right career choice.
References:• Diana Winstanley, Personal Effectiveness,London, Chartered Institute Of Personnel and Development, 2005.
• www.cultofmac.com/rob-janoff-oncreating-the-apple-logo-9847.
(The Author is a former Professor and Head of the Department of English in a College affiliated to Bangalore University where he taught English Literature for 24 years. He holds a Doctoral degree in Popular Culture and has been associated with Career Counselling for students)