Exploring creativity and creative thinking as an effective tool in STEM public engagement

2014年，机械工程师协会报告了工程教育的个性化。研究表明，年轻人将自己大致分为五类（称为“部落”），这取决于他们的价值观和信仰，他们对学校、家庭和工作的态度，以及他们对STEM作为一门学科和潜在职业的反应。该报告提出了一些重要的问题，即我们是否应该用考虑到差异的方案取代目前的“像我一样”的参与方法，并为每个部落的定制参与策略提供了具体建议。达勒姆大学和英格兰艺术委员会的联合研究合作——达勒姆委员会于2019年10月发布了《教育中的创造力》报告，研究了创造力和创造性思维在年轻人教育中的作用。报告建议，在教育中拥抱创造力有可能保留许多不符合明显的STEM原型的年轻人的创造才能和创新能力。我将共同举办公众参与（PE）活动，鼓励创造力和创造性思维，让年轻人和家庭探索和发现生物材料设计的创新。以利兹大学布拉格材料研究中心为平台，我将建立一种创造性体育文化，并开发一个框架，将创造性体育融入研究中。这将通过发展和评估我的创造性体育活动来实现，因为所有培训和支持两组体育大使，导致在整个研究周期中吸引不同公众成员的有效方法。包括学生、员工和公众在内的所有人的包容、尊重和平等的文化将是所有活动的核心。从长远来看，通过这项工作，我将通过国家罗伊斯研究所影响物理科学家和工程师，以实现这种新方法的更广泛影响。

In 2014 the Institute of Mechanical Engineers reported on the personalisation of engineering education. The study showed that young people divide themselves broadly into five categories (termed 'Tribes'), determined by their values and beliefs, their attitudes to school, family and work, as well as their reactions to STEM as a subject and as a potential career. The report raised important questions about whether we should replace the current 'be like me' engagement approach with programmes that take difference into account, and provided specific recommendations for bespoke engagement strategies for each Tribe. The 'Creativity in Education' report published in October 2019 by the Durham Commission, a joint research collaboration between Durham University and Arts Council England, examined the role of creativity and creative thinking in the education of young people. The report recommended that embracing creativity in education has the potential to retain the creative talents and innovative abilities of many young people who do not fit the obvious STEM archetype.I will co-create public engagement (PE) activities which embrace creativity and creative thinking to allow young people and families to explore and discover innovation in biomaterial design. Using the Bragg Centre for Materials Research at the University of Leeds as a platform, I will build a culture of creative PE and develop a framework to embed creative-led PE within research. This will be achieved through development and evaluation of my creative PE activities, as all training and support of two cohorts of PE ambassadors, leading to impactful methods of engaging diverse members of the public throughout the research cycle. A culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity for all, including students, staff and the public, will be central to all activities. Longer term and informed by this work, I will influence physical scientists and engineers through the national Royce Institute to realise the wider impact of this novel approach.