Trends and opportunities by fostering creativity in science and engineering: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This article conducts a systematic review of the literature, which seeks to present opportunities and trends in fostering creativity in science and engineering. The literature review is based on four phases: to identify eligible articles, screen and classify the selected documents, analyse the content and the citations, and report the findings and scopes for future research. To facilitate the topic's comprehension, the authors also include a theoretical background that centres on creativity models and theories. Finally, the authors present a classification of contributions into two groups related to 1) the practices for promoting creativity in science and engineering and 2) research trends in fostering creativity in these areas. Results show that creativity is a crucial skill for science and engineering professionals and an essential ability in the design process, especially to achieve innovative and potential impacts for humanity's well-being. Likewise, the authors observe how teachers, researchers, students, and organisations of professionals agree on the need to foster creativity from education, reflecting on the growth of the contributions oriented to this goal. Mixing knowledge areas, using problems and projects, and promoting skills like group learning, problem-solving, project management, autonomy, and idea generation are some characteristics of new proposals.

KEYWORDS:

• Creativity
• engineering education
• creative thinking
• engineering design
• problem-solving
• divergent thinking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia [grant number SGI3153].

Notes on contributors

Oscar Iván Higuera Martínez

Oscar Ivan Higuera-Martinez received a bachelor’s in electronics engineering in 2005 from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia and a master’s in industrial automation in 2009 from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He is currently a doctoral student in engineering at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. He is an assistant professor at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia and works with the Electronics Engineering School. His current research interests include signal processing, control systems, project-based learning, and engineering education.

Liliana Fernández-Samacá

Liliana Fernández-Samacá received a bachelor’s in electronics engineering in 1998 from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, an M.Sc. in industrial automation in 2007 from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and a PhD in electrical and electronics engineering in 2011 from Universidad del Valle, Colombia. She is an associate professor at Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia and works with the Electronics Engineering School. Her current research interests include control systems education, project-based learning, and engineering education.

Lizeth Fernanda Serrano Cárdenas

Lizeth Fernanda Serrano Cárdenas. Industrial Engineer. Master’s in industrial engineering (Research line: Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation). PhD candidate in Modeling and Public Policy Management program. Visiting Research Fellow at Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain and University of Palermo, Italy. She has generated more than 30 publications in her research areas. She has developed training programs in Technology Transfer with the World Intellectual Property Organization and Oxford University. She has been trained in Technological Forecasting by the University of Alicante. She is a consultant on strategic areas related to: Strategic Innovation, Public Innovation, Knowledge Management, Entrepreneurship, Technological Forecasting, Strategic Foresight and Project Management. Currently, she is a full-time professor at Universidad del Rosario and project’s evaluator at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation MINCIENCIAS in Colombia.