The creativity in teaching as a factor in bringing universities closer to social challenges

Abstract

The article proposes a reflection on the contribution of creativity as a response to the new global challenges that societies are facing: the proposal aims to rethink the formulas that university education can use to stimulate this human capacity.

The work focuses on the idea defended by Wallas, who considered creativity as the result of an evolutionary process that allowed humans to adapt quickly to altered environments (1926). Given the disruptions that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused to social and economic activities, it seems necessary to understand that the challenges faced by organisations must also be taken on by academia, and higher education institutions must therefore be prepared to train professionals who can be part of the solution to the problem. 

So, a review of the concept of creativity is proposed, with particular attention to the relevance of creativity in the  academic context. Also, we present a mapping of educational offerings at this level, evaluating the curricula of advertising and RP courses in Portugal and Spain, to understand if higher education institutions are prepared or not to train professionals aligned with the requirements of the new social landscape.

The study concludes that the presence of creativity in the curricula of Spanish and Portuguese main universities is residual and is limited to the specialities of communication. Far from playing a major role in training students to equip them with the tools to enable them to develop professionally in a changing environment, the higher education system continues living out of professional needs.