Course Summary

This course is designed for practising professionals in the world of business. Its purpose is to provide you with the underlining knowledge and research capabilities you need in order to encourage creativity and innovation in a business environment. You will develop into a creativity consultant within your organisation, learning from a vocational curriculum that enables you to apply the latest thinking relating to enterprise and innovation toward the making of a creative environment that consistently produces positive results.

The course takes a blended learning approach to help you manage the pace of your learning through a balance of online technology and interactive day sessions. You will meet with cohorts from a wide range of organisational backgrounds to engage in challenging teamwork, debate and leadership activities. You will learn proven techniques for sustaining the creation of new ideas, implementing them into the workplace and bringing them to the market.

As the course content serves to foster practical workplace skills, you will constantly conjure your personal working experiences for learning and development exercises. You will become a professional who is able to critically reflect on your work and analyse results for improved performance every time. You will do so with the help of a talented teaching team with extensive practical experience supported by strong research and/or consultancy backgrounds. Plus, there will be regular visits from representatives of outside organisations, which will also serve as a networking opportunity with prospective employers.

Why choose this course?

This course facilitates the career progression of managers working for organisations that prosper from creativity and innovation. This could include a variety of sectors such as retail, marketing, communications, media, public relations, charities, community groups, government and more.

During the course you will:

• Direct research towards an agenda that is responsive to your creativity and innovation needs as a working manager
• Become an innovative and imaginative agent of change within your workplace
• Benefit from the Universitys Creativity Clubs, where business people meet and exchange ideas
• Receive student membership to the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), giving you access to stimulating business events
• Enjoy access to the Knowledge Hub within the University, where you can attend seminars and reports held by key organisations
• Study in a dedicated management conference centre that reflects modern and fast-moving business
• Make use of the innovative Centre for Teaching and Learning, with its state-of-the-art learning spaces and expert staff

MSXCR

Assessment

• The underpinning philosophy of all the assessments is developmental, building on your knowledge, expertise and capabilities to ensure that you are an able and confident Creativity Champion. This emphasis will enable you to explore, experience and develop your understanding of creativity and innovation within the context of your business and personal needs. The role of the study material and the tutors is to facilitate your learning and to help you to promote your capacity to recognise, represent and evaluate your creativity and innovatory capabilities


• The overall aim of the assessment strategy is that you will receive constructive feedback from your course tutors, and student peers within the group. The team will support you to help you to use this feedback as part of your continuing professional and self development and to ensure you are enabled to do this you will be provided with group and individual tutorial support from the team. Your tutor will give you the active guidance to plan the next stages of your learning. This opportunity for supported self-reflection will enable you to take charge of your learning through developing critical evaluation and planning skills


• To facilitate and maximise learning for all students a range of assessment methods are used throughout the course and you will be required to undertake a variety of group and individual based assessments throughout the duration of the course. These assessments include individual and group written feedback assignments and projects, action learning reports as well as presentations. Latest web-based technology assessment techniques are also utilised including voice-to-voice tutorials and discussion boards. They are all rooted in authentic and practical workplace scenarios to enable learning to be transferred to the workplace. The assessments are designed to test knowledge and understanding of the appropriate underpinning theoretical input and research, but also to demonstrate the range of skills identified in section 4. An appropriate sample of all assessed work will be subject to multiple marking and external moderation to ensure appropriate quality standards and intended learning outcomes are achieved as well as consistency and fairness to all


• Action learning is the strategy that underpins the entire course in the application of theoretical academic perspectives to the very practical problem of supporting the transfer knowledge and skills to facilitate organizational creativity and innovation. Through iterative processes of diagnosing, planning, taking action and evaluation the Action Research Project synthesizes perspectives from all units in the course in the development of skills leading to continuous reflection on an in practice


• Apart from the formal assessments there will be an emphasis on self, peer and group as sessment. However all formal assessments will be marked graded and moderated by professional tutors only. The aim is for you to become an independent and self-directed lifelong learner and you will not only gain the skills and advantages of using self-reflection but you will gain more feedback from the conventional tutor-student written feedback. This will be used primarily as part of a formative assessment process within the units, rather than in the summative part, where moderation by others may be used

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Critically reflect on the essential links between creativity and ideas generation within the individual and innovation within the organisation and evaluate how this knowledge and understanding can be applied in your organisational life, as well as your own personal development.

2. Analyse key factors that may support or inhibit creativity and innovation and through reflection, develop and evaluate suitable organizational, management and human resource management strategies and practices to ensure application.

3. Demonstrate a depth of knowledge and a systematic understanding of the key principles underlying creative thinking and problem solving techniques and the application to business problems and to actively and openly practice, coach and mentor individuals and groups in such techniques so that ideas are developed, innovation is managed and knowledge is shared.

4. Synthesise organisational learning using a range of tools, procedures and behaviours and evaluate their effectiveness in actively promoting and sustaining creativity and innovation through the participative Action Research process continuously reflecting on and in practice.

5. Present a credible role model for creative leadership and behaviour and develop and implement supportive HRM practices to ensure a more creative climate in the organisation. This will be manifested by the values and behaviour of you and your employees and there will be a climate of trust and acceptance within the business.

6. Initiate appropriate action towards business planning to enable organisational transformation and renewal within a positive and innovative organisational climate. This will be evident through review, open discussion of possibilities and a willingness to try new ideas at a strategic, tactical and operational level in the business.

7. Actively evaluate and apply the implications of environmental issues and social responsibility. You and your organisation will openly espouse adherence to such social and ethical values and this will be evidenced in business decisions and actions.

External Benchmarking

The Subject Benchmarking Statements and Academic Standards for a Masters award in Business and Management are used for this degree. There are no specific standards for creativity and innovation. The degree expects you, as a student, to be able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and understanding of organisations, the external context in which they operate and how they are managed. The degree will be a challenging learning experience and an integration between theory and practice. As a student you will reflect on your knowledge, experience and practice, using peer and tutor interaction as one of the key processes here. Further details of these benchmarks can also be obtained by accessing. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/masters/MBAintro.asp

Educational Aims

The educational aims of the course are grounded in the Universitys mission to provide challenging and innovative learning and teaching that empowers the active and professional learner. The aims are also rooted in the mission and practice of the Business School to provide enterprising and fit for purpose courses that are necessary for businesses to expand and diversify. The Schools Learning and Teaching strategy supports these aims through the development of an engaging and stimulating learning environment that particularly at postgraduate level, engages actively with research and scholarly activity. The underpinning philosophy of the course is to engage in critical, analytical, historical and comparative approaches to the study of creativity and innovation within a business setting. It is interested in the implications of contemporary research relating to the development of creative learning cultures at an operational and strategic level within modern business organisation. The course is also underpinned by and takes full cognizance of benchmarks for management.

The course aims to equip you with the knowledge and understanding required to critically evaluate and reflect upon your studies including enabling you to develop:

• A systematic understanding of and engagement in critical, analytical, evaluative, reflective and comparative study using relevant research as a starting point for such learning


• A comprehensive understanding of psychological, sociological and economic theory relevant to the generation of a creative and enabling business culture


• A thorough understanding of techniques applicable to your own research and advanced scholarship


• Creativity in the application of knowledge to release and support innovation


• And demonstrate self direction and independence of study to become professional learners responsible for your own self development and the management of this process

You are expected to achieve a minimum standard of performance in terms of the following:

• The ability to address specific questions clearly and precisely and to assemble a cogent and coherent argument without unnecessary and irrelevant material


• The ability to give evidence to substantiate the arguments made, properly referenced in terms of the literature or in terms of methodologically justified empirical findings


• The ability to assemble a comprehensive body of relevant information from primary and / or secondary sources with which to address the topic of creativity and innovation and to derive practical action plans for change, innovation and business expansion within a given practical scenario


• Implementation of the range of theoretical perspectives relevant to creativity and innovation and contemporary debates in relation to those perspectives


• The ability to critically analyse, evaluate, integrate and synthesise empirical and theoretical material relevant to creativity and innovation


• The ability to draw on and integrate material from a variety of contexts both academic and non academic in order to address creativity and innovation


• The ability to relate the relevance of issues and debates relating to creativity and innovation within an ambiguous and turbulent business setting


• The ability to work on your own initiative and to direct your own studies

On completion of the course you will have the qualities needed to apply your learning in an organizational environment requiring sound judgment, personal responsibility and initiative in complex and unpredictable professional environments. The educational aims of the course are consistent with the national Management Subject benchmarks.

The course consists of 4 x 30 credit taught units and a 60 credit action research project. The taught units cover a diverse range of themes and areas but aim to introduce students to the latest thinking in the areas of creativity, the creative process and problem solving using innovative and creative techniques. Specifically students will undertake the following units (180 credits):

Year 1, 3 Terms (60 credits)

SHR01-6 Perspectives on Managing for Creativity (30 credits)

SHR02-6 Creative Problem Solving (30 credits)

Year 2, 3 Terms (60 credits)

SHR03-6 Innovation and Project Management (30 credits)

SHR04-6 Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Complexity (30 credits)

SHR05-6 Management Research Methods (15 credits) / SHR06-6 (45 credits) Action Research Project (60 credits)

This Project will be initiated towards the beginning of the qualification and will run throughout the whole of the study period.

There are thus five main Study Areas (based on units):

• Perspectives on Managing for Creativity

Drawing on the fields of Human Resource Management and Development and Organisational Behaviour the contribution of psychological, social and organisational factors are explored from theoretical and practical perspectives in a climate supportive and enhancing and sustaining creativity and innovation.

• Creative Problem Solving

Examines cognitive perspectives of problem solving as a basis for understanding and developing structured techniques to overcome barriers to creative thinking, essential throughout the course in supporting you in personal and organizational development.

• Innovation and Project Management

Examines the problems of implementing new ideas. Key concepts from project and change management are used to analyse the potential difficulties in the process and to identify and simulate practical approaches.

• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Complexity

Uses exciting new developments in the fields of chaos and complexity to help understand the turbulent, disordered, and unpredictable world in which we live and explores the implications for entrepreneurship and innovation.

• Action Research Project (including research methods)

Continuous learning on and in action through the integration of theory and participative practice in a specific context and based on clear objectives. The project emphasises the resolution of organisational issues through the iterative processes of diagnosing, planning, taking action and evaluation, leading to continuous reflection on an in practice.

Student support

The Business School has extensive experience of working with students who are studying part time while working and the degree is paced and structured to enable you to manage your time around a busy work and personal life also. The course team will be your first point of contact while you are studying and you will be assigned a dedicated tutor who you can refer to on a one to one basis should you have either academic or personal concerns. This tutor will be available for you throughout your study time at the University. You will also be allocated to a student self study support group, which will also act as both a learning and motivational help to you. You can meet up face to face apart from the times you are at the University or can contact via email or the voice to voice facility that is integral to the learning process.

The University also has a number of formalized and specialised support structures and departments.

Many of you may be concerned about returning to study. Be aware that while at work your experience is a valuable aid to helping you cope with academic study and your general life skills will have developed since leaving formal education after graduating. However assistance with study skills and IT support is available and you can access the Professional an Academic Development (PAD) department.

Team working

One of the key purposes is to improve your personal and organisational performance and quality through the continuous application of creativity accessing the imagination and abilities of your work colleagues. The synergy provided by the use and development of team working skills is essential for this to occur both in your workplace and within your learning experience at the University. You will be working with other students in groups and the course team to assess complex situation, solve business problems and issues, make decisions and anticipate future challenges. The advantages of team working are well understood and self evident but in the context of this degree course they are essential for creativity and results focused thinking. You will need to develop and apply your critical thinking and process skills and the team working environment endemic within the degree will foster and deepen these abilities. Group activity will be accessed throughout the course via tutorial groups, group work within the workshop sessions, project work related to workshop scenarios and assignments. All team working will be organised so that the experience is constructive and you will gain feedback, both explicit and implicit that will enable you to develop your critical thinking skills and also reflect on your personal strengths and perceived areas for development. Team working will therefore be essential for the enquiry process needed for academic study as well as your own continuous professional development. Student self supported learning groups will be organised to work within the University and these ideally should be used for self help and study outside the formal study periods. You will also be encouraged to attend networking groups and more formal lecture / seminar sessions organised by the Knowledge Network within the University.

Career Management Skills

It is expected that you will be actively engaged in paid employment or self employed but as a more mature learner you will be able to access resources available within the University to help with your continued career management. Over the duration of the course you will network with other students, the course team as well as have opportunities to go to presentations and lectures provided by the Knowledge Network which is a vibrant and lively meeting point for business people to share their knowledge and opportunities. More information can be obtained on http://www.theknowledgenetwork.co.uk/

The Business School offers courses on behalf of the Chartered Management Institute and the Institute of Leadership and Management as well as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The nationally recognised professional organisations all provide career management information and networks.

It is important that we stress that we plan to integrate personal, academic and career development within the course and you as a professional learner will feel better equipped to make relevant decisions and moves in line with your personal and career goals.

Career/Further study opportunities

Career:

The course is aimed at people who are actively employed/self employed or have some contact with team issues where creativity and innovation is relevant and important. We anticipate that when you complete your degree you will possess a well established reputation as a positive change agent in your organisation and are an obvious champion for the added value of a creative organisational culture. You will also have had extensive and continuous opportunity for reflective and critical evaluation of your capability as a team worker and leader. During the course you will have extensive networking opportunities within the wider course team as well as the University. You can talk through career and further development opportunities with your tutor as well as your peers and wider circle. Whatever you decide to do you will have a toolkit of knowledge and capabilities developed from the course that will support and enable you.

Further study:

Decisions relating to further study can be made during or after the course and you would be encouraged to keep in touch particularly by attendance at the Creativity Clubs and the opportunities provided by the Knowledge Network. The tutors will always be there as a source of advice and help should you want to progress your development further. The course is aimed at self-directed and motivated individuals and it is unlikely you will sit still. Alumni will be particularly welcome to input into subsequent deliveries of the MSc.

Entry

The unique, robust and specialist part time Masters level qualification is delivered within the Business School of the University. It is aimed at any person, with a suitable background, who would like to develop their creative abilities and apply such learning to release such talents in others. In order to benefit from the degree you will need to have an educational, experiential or professional base that involves working with others in team or change management. In order to cope with the demands of the course you should have:

• An Honours degree in any discipline from a recognized higher education institution


• Team leader experience for at least 2 years (or equivalent)


• Some evidence of continuous personal / self development

In addition, you will be aware of the importance of providing a climate and an energy within an organization that will encourage creativity and you will be passionate about working alongside others to create a sense of vision in a competitive environment, motivating people and leading them through change and being innovative in products, services and ways of working. Successful completion of this degree will enable you to have the necessary knowledge transfer that will underpin your abilities to release enterprise and imagination into your team and company. You will be a strong role model and a creativity champion so you will need to be a person who is willing to critically reflect and engage with personal and organizational change. As the degree is rooted in workplace practice and experience it is also essential that you have the support of your colleagues and line manager or others with the necessary power and influence. Your success as a student will be dependent on you taking your learning into your organization and experimenting, challenging and actively reflecting.

Some of these criteria may seem like a challenge to you if so good you are probably aware that the degree will be hard work but it will also be fun and will enable you to develop your creative ability practically. You will meet the Course Director before acceptance for the degree and she will explain more fully to you the implications and intended outcomes of the course and explore with you your ability to engage in the action learning requirements of the qualification.

UK students Undergraduate entry requirements

Standard entry requirements for Foundation degrees (FD/FdSc)

A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.

Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.

• As a guideline, a typical offer would require you to obtain a UCAS tariff score of between 80-120 points, based on your level 3 studies.
• Students who require a Tier 4 Student Visa cannot apply for our foundation courses. For these courses the University of Bedfordshire is not able to sponsor Tier 4 Student Visa applications.

Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.

We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.

Standard entry requirements for Undergraduate degrees (BA/BSc)

We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.

The general requirement is one of the following:

• UCAS Tariff Score greater than 200, which should include either two A level passes or an AVCE Double Award
• An Access qualification
• Equivalent qualifications such as Irish Leaving Certificate, Scottish Highers, International Baccalaureate or BTEC National Diploma

Postgraduate taught courses

Postgraduate applications (MA/MSc) should be made direct to the University using the  standard University application form. There are some exceptions, please see individual course descriptions for details.

• UK/EU students application form
• International (non-EU) students application form
  

Students from the European Union

Entry requirements

As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.

We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.

How to apply

International students

• Undergraduate applications (BA/BSc) can be made direct to the University or via our representatives in your home country. If you intend to apply to more than one university in the UK you should apply via UCAS. If you want to apply to the University of Bedfordshire only you should apply directly using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Postgraduate applications should be made directly to the University using our international application form (link below) or via our representatives in your home country
• Healthcare, nursing and midwifery students Many of these courses are not available to overseas students due to UK immigration law in regard to bursary funding. Please contact international admissions to find out if you are eligible to apply
• BA Nursing Studies Level 3 (with or without Overseas Nursing Programme) is available to overseas students - please contact International Admissions by email at international-admissions@beds.ac.uk for further information

(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)

Course application form for international students

We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.

• Course application form for direct applications [PDF]

How to complete your course application

Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.

Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section

Accreditation of prior certificated learning (APL)

APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.

Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `

The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.

We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.

• APL application form for International students [100Kb] updated 041007

What next?

Return your completed application to:

University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom

Contact International Admissions

T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk

Awarding institution

University of Bedfordshire

Teaching Strategy

The Course team:

Pauline Loewenberger the Course Director and Lecturer in Human Resource Management currently nearing completion of a PhD in creativity and innovation based on the contribution of individual, social and organisational factors which has implications for human resource management in supporting creativity and innovation in business organisations. Her teaching interests for the proposed MSc include the cognitive psychology of problem solving and creative problem solving techniques; the contribution of individual differences; theoretical approaches to creativity and innovation, particularly through a supportive organizational climate that effectively utilise appropriate organisational and HRM policies and practices.

Rod Smith highly experienced HR practitioner and consultant, Rod shares his knowledge with business students in his role as Senior Lecturer, specialising in organisational behaviour, management development, performance management, learning and development and managing change. His teaching interests for the MSc include the process aspects of creative management such as politics, projects, risk, complexity and uncertainty. Rod also has extensive development and consultancy experience covering leadership and all aspects of personal development.

Sue Whittaker is the Project Manager of the M1 Knowledge Exchange and the Business Growth Course which focus on innovation and creativity as a strategic tool for sustainable business growth. Her teaching interests for the proposed MSc include change and the management of entrepreneurship and innovation. Sue has recently completed a DBA and is a visiting lecturer in Human Resource Management at Cranfield University.

Sue Bathmaker Head of the Department of Strategy and HRM (the degree is located within this department) with extensive experience of business development including the MBA delivered internationally. She has successfully bid for ESF monies to fund delivery of MBA degrees specifically for people working in smaller businesses as well as establishing the Centre for Womens Enterprise. Her teaching interests for the proposed degree include the psychological perspectives relating to creativity as well as organisational structures and processes designed to enable and manage creativity. She is planning to deliver three conference papers in 2007 on blended learning and media richness theory

Paul Burns Dean of Business School and Professor of Entrepreneurship. Paul has extensive experience of consultancy with small firms and has worked at Cranfield, Warwick and the Open Universities. He has published numerous books and journal articles relating to entrepreneurship and creativity. Since coming to the Business School in 2003 Paul has overviewed the development and expansion of new and existing courses initiated the innovative Business Pods, giving Level 1 undergraduates a simulated work experience for their first year of learning at the University.

David Hall Visiting Professor of Business Creativity. David is CEO of the Horseracing Forensic Laboratory and he believes that creativity and innovation are at the heart of HFLs people based culture. David is a strong role model for the belief that new ideas and ways of thinking all help provide energy that creates an environment and culture to maximize performance. Dave will be involved in many of the practical workshop sessions he has helped establish a network of idea and creativity clubs within organizations to facilitate a mutual desire of members to develop, be stimulated by and exchange new ideas and techniques. You as a student will have access to, participate in and contribute to, the dissemination of such ideas. David has been chosen as `Britians most energetic Boss 2007 in a recent E.ON nationwide poll.

This is the core team but visiting tutors will be used throughout the course. A Creativity Club has been established within the University and you will be encouraged to attend meetings. Here you will meet a range of people who are keen to drive new ideas, which enhance the environment around the workplace.

The Teaching Strategy

• The teaching and learning approach of the course is through blended learning. This means a combination of pedagogic approaches, including using the latest approaches to learning technology, action learning, and independent learning. Action learning is the approach that links the world of learning with the world of action through a reflective process within small cooperative learning groups known as action learning sets. You will acquire a toolkit of diverse and complex skills and knowledge necessary for your development as a creative organizational change agent. Student-centred self support groups, both face-to-face and / or via virtual contact, will be used throughout the course. There are thus a variety of pedagogic approaches in which the focus of the learning is experiential to enable you to practise, experiment and evaluate in the workshops and other face-to-face opportunities, but to use the online technology and related facilities for knowledge acquisition and research


• The teaching strategy will be eclectic enabling you to gain the necessary underpinning theoretical knowledge and research that will enable you to actively explore, reflect and critically evaluate your own perceptions and knowledge. This approach will also help you to become an autonomous and self-directed learner. This means you will be confident of your capabilities as an independent learner and researcher and able to manage your own learning in line with your busy work schedule, using your learning skills to develop a compendium of knowledge, reflecting and analysing the implications of this for your understanding of creativity and innovation and applying this new understanding in practical situations at work


• There will be an initial induction weekend in the early autumn at the start of the course and this will be held at Putteridge Bury, the University conference and postgraduate management centre. The aim of the induction weekend is to familiarize you with your student colleagues and the course team and to give you a very practical insight into the creativity learning experience. The weekend workshop will be made up of a number of sessions facilitated by members of the course team and will focus on learning through critical reflection, peer and lecturer feedback and selfanalysis. You will leave the induction weekend inspired by the central notion of the course that creative professionals in the workplace are essential for the development of a learning culture than will ensure innovation with organisations.


• The course is structured to allow for the time pressures of busy professionals. You will attend two weekend workshop sessions per term these are practical workshops enabling a process of constructive alignment whereby the course objective, learning and assessment outcomes are aligned so that you as a learners view of the subject is complementary with the course teams perspectives. The workshop sessions will be supported by the use of online learning materials enabling you to pace and manage your time. There will be a weekend induction session at the start of the course and at the start of year two.


• Each study unit will have dedicated materials, which can be accessed via the University virtual learning environment. These give you the necessary underpinning knowledge and research directives and they are written specifically for this course by the relevant academics within the team. You will receive information to help you with time management to ensure that you complete each unit of study within a specified timescale. In addition podcasts, discussion boards and voice-to-voice seminar tutorials will be used, but please be assured technical training and support will be provided where necessary


• Action learning involving the use of real-life problems and scenarios will be integrated into the workshop and other face-to-face sessions. This flexible process allows action, improvement and change together with relevant research to be achieved at the same time. You will gain knowledge and understanding which will allow change to be processed in an informed way and similarly your understanding will be further informed by the change. This process of learning can be replicated in the workplace to help and enable transference of learning and is also very self-development and reflective


• The Educational Aims and the Learning Outcomes emphasise the purpose of the degree is to enable you to become a Creativity and Innovation Champion within your organization. The teaching strategy is designed to support you through this process. Your learning experience while studying will give you the opportunity to explore, experience and develop your creative abilities according to your personal and business needs. In this way you can construct and interpret new meanings for the way you conduct your business life. It is important that your workplace becomes involved in your learning and input to the course, from relevant personalities within your organisation, will be encouraged.

Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body Accreditation

N/A

Students with disabilities

The course team is aware of the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and seek to ensure that the practices the Act seek to encourage are followed. Concerning special educational needs (e.g. dyslexia) special provision is made for assessment for course work depending on the individual needs of the student. All formal teaching and learning is undertaken on premises that provide reasonable access for you if you have concerns about mobility. Advice on the nature of specific disabilities and the reasonable adjustments which can be made to accommodate disabled students is available from the Disability Advice Team.

Skills Development

Communication:

In order to be a successful innovator it is essential that your communication skills are of a very high standard. Throughout the qualification you will be involved in expressing and reflecting on your ideas as well as influencing and shaping decisions. You will be communicating with a wide network of diverse people and groups and your oral communication skills will be effective and persuasive. Your written report writing skills similarly will be the standard expected of M level students and the course offers a rich forum for further elaboration and development of this important capability.

Information Literacy:

This will be introduced to you help to access journals and info and making judgements and to critically engage wit and to make reflections on, increasingly extensive amounts of information now available trough a range of technologies. In order to engage in academic research you will need to find, understand, evaluate and use information. Also important are the regulations and laws as well as institutional policies related to the access and use of information. Tutors will provide study skills practice to help you to understand how to approach abstracting relevant information from an academic article and hence to cope wit the demands of academic practice. These academic practice skills are probably new to you and there will support from the course team to help you, particularly in the initial stages of the course. There will also be online guides to take you through accessing basic principles and procedures of the learning regime. In addition you will receive help from specialist staff to help you navigate your ways through Learning Resources (the Library), as well as giving your encouragement to produce new information through empirical research and use of digital media.

Research and Evaluation:

These skills are central to the learning strategy within the course to enable you to work through and resolve blockages to creativity and other related problems and concerns, probably from your workplace. You will need to demonstrate original, independent and critical thinking and to further develop relevant theories relating to how you will translate these into action. The action learning process will support your development where peers and tutors will evaluate and give you feedback and share in your learning. So the research process will allow you time for data collection, reflection on current practice, enable you to work through problems that are not resolved by the traditional lecturer / seminar route and to take action. In this way you are committed to innovation.

Creativity and Critical Thinking:

The course focus is creativity and is structured around developing your capabilities as a critical and evaluative thinker to enable you to make reasoned arguments, based on research findings. You will be given the opportunity to think reflectively about learning materials and activities you are presented with, you can take time to pause an reflect and then perhaps question what is said. You will use other sources of evidence to question as well as your own knowledge and experience. In this way you can establish the worth of the arguments and develop your independent learning skills. The evaluation and synthesis process will enable you to present your own interpretation of the information, logically and coherently. This is creativity in action and such learning will enable you to transfer these reflective skills to the workplace and mentor and support your colleagues to do the same, but in a productive and supportive learning culture. Testing out your critical and creative thinking skills will be done with other students and tutors, in tutorials, self help groups and other course forums.

Improving learning and performance

The course aims to enable you to become an autonomous learner and a reflective and creative change agent who is able and willing to reflect on experience and explore and anticipate future opportunities and then applying your learning to ensure innovation. Most people have some internal blocks that will inhibit creativity and the workshop and other face to face sessions in particular, will be organised to inspire you and give you space to release inhibitions, keep you motivated and engaged and facilitate risk taking, experimenting with new problem solving techniques that you can transfer to your workplace. In order to ensure this happens the course has the following continuous development design features.

• You will be engaged in using assessment feedback. The assessments are planned and designed to ensure you will have suitably designed tasks and assignments with clearly defined criteria and standards. The learning outcomes will be transparent and clear for each assessment. There will however be an open-endedness that is inherent in all assessments. For instance you may be asked to set and draw up a scenario for problem solving within your workplace environment as part of the assignment. You will therefore be active within an authentic learning scenario, the situation is dynamic and in real time, and most importantly you will be learning and monitoring a work situation, evaluating and making adjustments as events unfold. The aim of the feedback from the tutor would be to help you to recognise your own creative input to the problem and to self assess efficacy in the achievement of the learning objectives. You will be encouraged to be open with student peers about feedback from assignments and to use this knowledge within the self-study groups and tutorials. Self reflection and personal evaluation of learning will be embedded in these learning sets as will the development of consensus relating to the development of individual creative abilities


• You will be supported throughout the course to take greater responsibility for your own development. The course will provide a cognitive apprenticeship to enable you to draw back implicit and explicit feedback about your creativity progression. In order for this to happen there will need to be a strong bond between the course team, the student delegates and the learning tasks and research. Your self study groups and the formal tutorials will enable you to access resources, synthesise and make connections that will work towards solving better understandings and possible solutions to difficult problems. This energetic and active approach to learning will enhance your confidence and self-esteem and will provide a continuous feedback loop ensuring your motivation to act as a professional and autonomous learner


• Your personal tutor will be an anchor throughout the course. The course is designed to ensure there is connectivity between the tutor, the student and the wider course team to maximize learning opportunities. All tutors are experienced in facilitation and active listening skills. He or she will work with you in a constructive relationship to ensure a clear sense of purpose and positive intention, in line with you own personal and business needs and goals


• Diagnostic measurement tools will be used throughout the course. During the induction period you will be given an MBTI instrument and gain feedback on your personality style and the implications this style has on your individual and group behaviour. You will be encouraged to reflect and evaluate the implications of your style for your preferred patterns of problem solving, decision making and team working. Such feedback enables you to improve your communication patterns, work more effectively with others who perhaps you label difficult and to reduce conflict. Other diagnostic tools may also be used in the workshops. However it is anticipated that personal evaluation of learning relating to creativity and innovation will be the most powerful evaluative process for the assessment of progress and direction


• As someone who is perhaps a returner to learning and study you will be apprehensive about your ability to cope with a Masters level degree and the concomitant study skills involved. Two weeks prior to the start of the course there will be a dedicated Study Skills day facilitated by the tutors on the course. Here you will be taken through the academic skills required for successful completion of the course including approaches to enquiry and research, reading and decoding an academic journal article and writing academic reports and formal assignments. Web technology is used extensively by the University to support learning and access to these resources will be explained to you. You will also have a presentation from your Tutor Librarian from within the Learning Resource Centre who will help you to access journal articles and other relevant learning resources, electronically.

Progress files

You will be expected to keep a progress file, along with all students of the University. Over the duration of the qualification you will be collecting a large amount of information, which is an important record of your achievements. You will be guided and supported to collect and save relevant evidence related to your personal development and this will form the basis of the e-portfolio which is an essential feature of the e-portfolio.

Professional standards

There are no dedicated professional standards for related specifically to this qualification. However the University has links and partnerships with both the Chartered Management Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and actively networks with both these organisations to ensure professionalism and excellence. As a creativity champion you will be a strong role model and we would expect by the end of the course that you would add value to your organisation by conforming to the following behaviours:

• Being a inspirational and ethical leader that people want to work with so that you are able to transform your organisational culture to ensure creativity and innovation of paramount


• Being able to manage yourself and being positive to manage emotional responses to situations and people in a constructive manner


• Managing relationship through self awareness of ones own emotions and those of others to successfully engage others


• Leading and following others to ensure sustainable and ethical change is occurring in your organisation


• Use communication strategies that bring differing viewpoints and generate positive results and to use suitable language and perspective when delivering messages


• Show awareness and knowledge of the applied social sciences in your team working and building


• Be a respectful and listening manager / team player who is open to others perspectives and who will evaluate ideas constructively and positively


• Be committed via mentoring and coaching to continuing personal development and promote the CPD ethic within your business


• Be mindful of the ethical implications of your practice through dialogue with peers, clients and mentors and adhere to professional ethical standards at all times in relation to action learning and action research, formulating alternative solutions as necessary, including the demonstration of an awareness of the ethical implications of creativity versus conformity. Your tutors will adhere to ethical, personal and professional standards at all times. The University has specific policies and procedures to ensure such standards are rigorously adhered to

Strategy for developing and embedding the professional standards

These standards underpin and drive and learning and teaching philosophy of the qualification and are integrated into all aspects of the Masters provision.