Teaching creativity to undergraduate engineering students

Over the recent years, it has become more and more apparent that creativity is a skill equally important for both technical and artistic careers. However, methods for teaching creativity that work for arts students are not always appropriate for engineering students. The present study outlines the adaptation of a creativity development session from an artistic degree curriculum (Mascareñas, 2019), to make it suitable for teaching to engineering students. The session was run three times with 1st and 2nd year engineering students at a Russell Group university in the north of England, and both qualitative and quantitative feedback was collected from students after the session. The main findings indicate the importance of a trusting relationship between students and the educator, the need for balance between delivering a memorable experience and offering support, and the significance of subsequent reflection.