Human Creativity and Learning in Product-Development

The aim of this project is to conduct empirical investigations of the potential relationship between apprenticeship in late modernity and human creativity and learning to further the systematic implementation of innovative practices in product and organizational development. The project is based on the assumption that we need to establish learning environments that are flexible adjusted to individual talents in order to enhance creativity in product development. And furthermore that apprenticeship might be a suitable learning environment for cultivating creativity. Studies will be conducted by three researchers in two divisions of product-development in Cowi, a Danish engineering organization and in co-operation with Mindbiz.dk, a business-consultancy company. Five working-hypotheses will be explored: 1) In order to enhance creativity in a particular workplace or community, the management of leadership and the master-role is important. 2) The delegation of responsibilities to younger employees is vital in order to ensure the appropriate balance of reproduction, innovation and creativity. 3) There may be a difference between the recognition of men's and women's creativity resulting in a lack of utilization of innovative possibilities. 4) The highest levels of expertise are learned only through some form of apprenticeship. 5) Productive and creative work relations depend on expert networks and knowledge sharing. By doing empirical investigation in a high profile Danish organization like Cowi and in Mindbiz.dk, this project will result both in a theoretical development of the workplace research literature and in more pragmatic guidelines on how to cultivate creativity and innovation in modern workplaces in Denmark.