A public talk by Adj. Prof. Kaija Collin and Soila Lemmetty, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, part of the Creativity and Innovation Lecture Series organized by the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation (WCCI).

Date: 26 February 2019

Time: 18:15 – 19:00
(followed by a small reception)

Place: LLC Commons Room

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There are only few studies of creativity as an individual activity or as a collective practice in a work context compared to the importance of this phenomenon. The studies that do exist consider workplace creativity in terms of problem-solving, of creating something new, or the development of new work methods. The aim of these creative activities are to achieve high-quality results or to cope with the work itself. The processes involved in creative activity are triggered by different learning situations that are embedded within various workplace learning practices. Learning at work no longer implies taking courses or other formal learning training, but the ongoing assessment and implementation of one’s own or the teams’ learning needs, goals and practices. Learning, especially in knowledge-intensive work, is part of the work itself and, therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the employee. Consequently, concepts such as ‘autonomous learning’ and ‘self-directed learning’ are particularly important in the field of creative work and learning. In this presentation, we highlight what is meant by ‘creative activity’ at work, what kind of creative activities and self-directed workplace learning practices are involved by it. We will present various cases of creative activity and learning at the workplace, both individual and collective, and reflect on their implications for organizations, employees and leaders alike.

Adjunct Professor Kaija Collin works at the University of Jyväskylä, Department of Education. She began her university teaching in 1993 at Open University. Later she worked as a university lecturer and researcher at the Department of Education. Her research interests focus on workplace learning, professional identity an agency, inter-professional work practices, creativity and leadership, and professional development in general in various organizational contexts. Collin has widely published internationally and she has a long experience of supervising master and doctoral students.

Soila Lemmetty, M.Ed. works as a project researcher in HeRMo - Ethical Human Resource Management Supporting Creative Action in Growth Companies - Research and Development Project, as well as a doctoral student of adult education at the Department of Education, University of Jyväskylä. Her research interests and expertise relates in particular to the phenomenon of learning, self-directedness and creative activity at work, and supporting them in organizations.

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