Future Skills through

Creativity, Innovation and

Foresight:
The experience of
The Edward de Bono Institute
at the University of Malta
by Professor Sandra M. Dingli
ETF FRAME Conference, Montenegro, 18
September 2013

The Edward de Bono

Institute
Set up in collaboration with Professor
Edward de Bono in 1992.
Offers programs to University of Malta
students and to the general public.
Emphasis on the transfer of skills and
knowledge, the ability to adapt to new
contexts and the importance of creativity,
innovation management, foresight and
entrepreneurship to increase competitive
advantage at a personal and organizational
level.
Website: http://www.um.edu.mt/create

Todays knowledge
society
... live in a knowledge
Many of us today
society.
In this knowledge society we are
swimming in an ocean of masses of
data, information, possibly also of
knowledge.
(Image source:
http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/)

Today many of us are drowning in

messages, information, data ...
How do we deal with this overflow of data and
information?
What skills are required?

Image source:
http://www.fotolia.com/id/18491412

Making sense of information

in times of exponential change ...
How do we make sense
of all this data and information?
Are previously used methods
of communicating, of understanding,
of learning, of acquiring skills still valid
today?
Should we continue to use
the skills and attitudes we cultivated in
the past?

Summary of session
To consider:
How are skills learnt?
How current and future generations operate
The end of the career?
Skills aquired through The Edward de Bono
Institutes Masters Programs at the University
of Malta
Emphasis on Foresight skills
Conclusion

How are skills learnt?

Could reading a how to do ... manual
lead you to become:
A successful F1 GP driver?
An orchestra conductor?
An Olympic marathon runner?

How are skills learnt?

Could reading a how to do ... manual lead you
to become:
A successful F1 GP driver?
An orchestra conductor or a world famous
musician?
An Olympic marathon runner?

Image source: http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/wr2pIzykiCkqk0ny_oolog-/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00Mjc7cT04NTt3PTYzMA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_uk/News/apimages.com/17172628.jpg

Current and future generations ...

Different generations possess different
values, attitudes, skills and ways of
operating.
Gen Y should definitely be taken into
consideration when thinking about
future skills in a fast changing and
technologically saturated environment.
This should assist us to identify skill sets
which will be relevant in the future.

Who are Gen Y ...

Gen Y were born in the 1990s into the
internet age.
They have grown up using the internet,
mobile phones, and social networking
sites for communication purposes.

Gen Y
This generation are ambitious and selfconfident.
Baby-boomers (born in the 1950s) may
consider Gen Ys to be arrogant.
This is an obvious misperception.
Gen Ys have high expectations and
seek new challenges.
They are not afraid to raise questions
if something is unclear.

Gen Y ...
ambitious and goal-oriented
interested in self-development and
improvement
inclined to plunge into work they find
interesting and important, even when
they know little about it
likely to equate job satisfaction with a
positive work climate, flexibility, and the
opportunity to learn and grow
... / Cont.

Gen Y (cont.) ...

tend to value respect and want to earn it
enjoy freedom to perform work as they think
best
likely to dislike menial work and routine tasks
lack skills for dealing with difficult people
may be impatient
their technical skills may at times not matched
by soft skills such as listening, communicating,
independent thinking, being a team player, and
managing time
... / Cont.

Gen Y (cont.) ...

tend to look for instant gratification rather
than long-term investment of time and effort
value free time and remote working
possibilities, enjoy flexibility, they work to live
(not live to work)
may regularly negotiate and pose questions
prepared to work hard if they know they are
held in high esteem
change jobs easily when not satisfied with
the way in which they are treated (increased
job mobility)

Does increased job mobility

imply
the end of the career?

End of the career hypothesis (Flores and

Gray, 2000)
Some examples:
internet banking,
e-publishing,
travel agents,
e-shopping,
newspapers,
new means of communication (skype,
social networks, etc.)

The end of the career

(Flores and Gray, 2000)
Due to the accelerating rate of change (caused
mainly by the increased uptake of new
technology), policy makers need to reconsider
the concept of careers.
Traditionally, a career would span most of a
persons working life.
Today there is a trend towards internships,
increased job mobility and fixed-term
contracts.
Yet, policy makers still consider careers to be
the desirable model for employment policies

The end of the career

(Flores and Gray, 2000)
The very idea of a career now makes less
and less sense of most peoples working
lives (Flores and Gray, 2000).
New and less secure working patterns are
emerging and the subsequent effects and
implications need to be assessed.
The current economic situation no longer
provides the clear career paths it may
have provided in the past.

The end of the career displacement

(Flores and Gray, 2000)
Displacement is occuring through technological
innovation, particularly in the services
industry and in todays knowledge society.
Examples include: travel agents, sales people
in retail stores and the banking sector and the
internets effect on the publishing industry:
New technologies (eg., e-books) are displacing
the concept of the published book and
newspapers.

The rise of a new form of

trust?
Control and authority (previously traditional
managerial mindsets) are giving way to a new form
of trust.
Today trust is not always built on a face-to-face basis.
Possibilities for remote working (digital nomads),
virtual and remote communication, and the blurring
of geographical boundaries give rise to a new form of
trust building.
This involves integrity, responsibility and respect.
Some emerging issues need to be addressed (values,
ethical issues, web security, privacy, cybercrime,
addictions, distractions, remote work assessment, elearning pedagogies, etc.)

Technological innovation
Understanding these emerging trends
enables policy makers to design strategies
and to formulate policies that successfully
address the changing context which is
brought about due to innovation,
technological change and the subsequent
evolution of mindsets.

Skill sets for today and for the

future?
The skills required today are no longer those that
most people were taught at school or university.
Education should be regarded as a lifelong
undertaking and employees provided with
opportunities for continuous professional
development and frequent re-training.
This should be geared to provide individuals with
the skills that organisations require and an
entrepreneurial mindset where opportunities are
recognised and individuals are prepared to take
risks.

Skill sets for today and for the

future ...
The aims behind the Masters
Programs at The Edward de Bono
Institute,
UoM
The Masters Programs are based on four
pillars:
Creativity (including idea generation and
critical thinking);
Innovation Management;
Entrepreneurship (including
Intrapreneurship);
Foresight (or Future Studies).
Underlying all four pillars is:
Research Methods.

Skill sets:
Research Methods
Research Methods:
To conduct qualitative and quantitative
research (structure of report, data collection,
data analysis, sources, interpretation of
results), dealing with and critically
summarising masses of information and data
from various sources, writing skills,
communicating research procedures, data
analysis, data interpretation, summarising
results of research.

Skill sets:
Creativity (including idea generation
and critical thinking)
Idea generation skills:
Using tools and methods to generate novel ideas,
to consider creativity as a skill, to be open
minded and consider a variety of possibilities
and solutions, to scan for possibilities broadly,
to switch from one mode of thinking to another
(eg., Six Thinking Hats, flexible thinking, etc.),
recognising opportunities for the application of
creative and constructive thinking, adding value
to current products, processes and services.

Skill sets:
Creativity (including idea generation
and critical thinking)
Critical thinking:
Not to accept at face value what the media
presents to its public, recognising sweeping
statements, generalisations, unfounded
assumptions, information provided without
sufficient justification or evidence, asking
pertinent questions, cultivating intellectual
curiosity, objectivity, open mindedness,
intellectual skepticism, intellectual honesty,
persistence, decisiveness and respect for other
viewpoints.

Skill sets:
Innovation management
Innovation Management:
Recognise and apply strategies for innovation
management within an organisation, harness
ideas generated from a variety of sources
(employees, customers, suppliers, users,
general public), recognise and act to
overcome obstacles to innovation in
organisations, design and apply creativity and
innovation audits.

Skill sets:
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship:
Recognise and apply the key factors involved in
setting up a new enterprise, including opportunity
recognition and risk taking, identify opportunities
for the introduction of innovative products and
services, conduct feasibility studies to assess the
likelihood of profitably exploiting the identified
opportunities, formulate business plan for a new
enterprise;
Explain what is involved in starting up a business,
formulate a strategy for the exploitation of an
idea into a new or an existing enterprise.

Skill sets:
Foresight
Foresight:
Scanning for trends, awareness about long
range strategic future planning, use and
application of simple foresight tools,
relevance of foresight for intelligence
gathering, corporate strategy and policy
making, managing a foresight activity,
learning and dissemination in foresight.

Emphasis on Foresight
skills
...FP5 STRATA two-year Malta Council for
2001:
eForesee
Science and Technology
2002: COST A22 Foresight Methodologies: Exploring new ways
to explore the future
WG3: Interactions between researchers, decision makers and
the public
October 2004: Master in Creativity and Innovation with
Foresight as key theme
October 2006: Erasmus Curriculum Development Program
eInnForM
2007: Dingli, Sandra M. and Casingena Harper, Jennifer Quality
Television for Children in 2015, in Programmi Ta Kwalita
ghat-Tfal, Eds. Aquilina, K., Axiak, M., DeBono, D. and Muscat
Azzopardi, M., commissioned by Broadcasting Authority
(Malta) and Commissioner for Children (Malta), Progress Press
Company Limited (ISBN 9789993221050)
October 2009: Joint MSc in Strategic Innovation and
Future Creation (with University of Potsdam, University of
Turku and University of Teesside participating)

Emphasis on Foresight
skills ...

2012: Dingli, Sandra M. and Casingena Harper, J., 6.45.17.

History of Foresight Techniques for Creativity and
Innovation, in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems
(EOLSS), Developed under the auspices of the UNESCO,
Eolss Publishers, Oxford ,UK, [http://www.eolss.net]
2013: Dingli, Sandra M. Dissemination and
Implementation of Foresight Projects in Participation and
Interaction in Foresight: Dialogue, Dissemination and
Visions, Eds. Borch, K., Sgaard Jrgensen, M. and Dingli,
S., Glouchester, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
2013: Goodman, M. and Dingli, Sandra Creativity and
Strategic Innovation Management. Oxford, U.K.:
Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) (Paperback edition
ISBN: 978-0415663557, Hardback edition ISBN: 978-0415-66354-0)

Successful and sustainable

programs require:
Flexibility to adapt according to the
context, culture and sensitivity of all those
involved;
On-going development of the initiative,
through self-reflection and self-evaluation
Research to evaluate, constructively
criticise and modify strategies and to
continually improve them;
Motivation on the part of the key people
involved;
The establishment of a creative climate
where mutual trust and self-confidence

To conclude ...
Traditional methods of training for the
acquisition of skills no longer apply in todays
scenario where young people (digital natives)
are raised on fast interactive multiplayer
online games and generally require
challenges for their imagination to be fired
and for their motivation to be increased.
Baby boomers too (born ca. 1950s) are moving
beyond traditional methods of skills
acquisition.

To conclude ...
The concept of careers may be coming to an
end.
The potential of Gen Y needs to be better
addressed.
The best way to acquire transferable skills is
not through explanations or mere
understanding, rather, it is through relevant
experience that transferable skill sets may be
acquired and maintained.
eg. driving a Formula One racing car, playing
the violin or running a marathon.

To conclude ...
Inspiration and motivation
Future skills foresight workshop with new
student intake!
Story of the fly ....
Positive thinking, foresight (with inbuilt
flexibility).

Thank you for your attention!

sandra.m.dingli@um.edu.mt
www.um.edu.mt/create