Student innovators: Achieving impact in a connected world through radical creativity

In his socio-cultural definition of creativity, Sawyer emphasises the importance of appropriateness as well as novelty. But one might ask: appropriate for whom? Unless educators seek a satisfactory answer to this question, then the creative efforts made by students in Higher Education risk having no impact at all. This chapter explores how adult learners can innovate with impact. The theoretical basis for this exploration lies in an informed resolution of the learning paradox, which in essence asks: if all learning is situated, how do we conceive completely new ideas? Drawing heavily on socio-cultural theory, the chapter advocates the idea of ‘emergence’. By co-creating the problem-solving process across multiple domains, new ideas emerge that are both inconceivable (adult learners would never have produced them on their own) and obvious (they are so appropriate that the intended beneficiaries of those ideas have no hesitation in adopting the emerging solutions). Operationalising this process requires educators to reconceptualise divergent and convergent thinking. This chapter explores divergent thinking techniques (in the form of creative tools) and convergent thinking patterns that are cognitively easy for adult learners to adopt. The discussion is empirically supported with select case studies/reflections on the ventures of adult learners (entrepreneurs) who have followed the journey from inconceivable to obvious and are now enjoying significant commercial success.