Creativity in engineering is the ability to create different things and products, having features of novelty and uniqueness, usefulness and value, elegance and simplicity.
Teaching creativity involves the study of methods and techniques focused on active use of knowledge acquired in the study of theoretical, technical, social and humanitarian disciplines, to solve problems of engineering practice. In other words, the ability to apply knowledge deserves the same attention in high school, as the process of knowledge acquisition.
- For purposeful work on development of creative abilities should be tested and to provide the students with a creative mindset. Teachers of basic subjects in the initial courses to identify students who have the ability. This information must accompany the student in the transition from course to course. Thus it is possible to track the identity, endowed with a heightened ability and purposefully to work with them. It is necessary to develop tests to identify gifted students. The risk of overlooking the gifted student and not to use its potential is significantly reduced.
- Starting from the fourth course, to organize and conduct training on individual plans prepare students with a well-developed creative component.
- To develop programs and tests to identify additional (main profession) creative abilities and inclinations of students and contribute to their development.
- Creativity students can develop only teachers who work creatively, so one of the key issues is the question of personnel.
- Creativity can be raised at all, and the quality teaching to all. Therefore, you should develop students culture mental labor, the rational organization of the workplace, organizing raw materials and intermediate results of the computation, logic and sequence of actions when solving problems and the like.
- The engineering design process includes three activities: invention, engineering analysis and decision making. It is necessary to strengthen the training in the first direction of future activities by studying the methods of stimulating the birth of ideas, the restoration of scientific-research activity of scientific-research work of students) in the educational process, the update of the topics for course and diploma projects, and the like. You must enter for all students in course and final projects and additional tasks that are performed only with a creative approach to the task.
- In the study of special disciplines, it is important to move away from the reproductive method of training. The acquired knowledge must be active, and this teaching must be accompanied by a great number of creative tasks, tasks. Each teacher needs to create a Bank of such tasks to their discipline, so they are not repeated for at least the next few years. The objective of each Department is to create in the direction of a relevant undergraduate training a large Bank of custom creative tasks to be performed by students as an alternative training assignment.
- It is expedient to introduce foreign practices on overcoming psychological inertia, which arises from the “prescription method of training. For example, Prof. John Arnold of Stanford University uses a method based on the need in the design to take into account a totally unknown physical conditions of a certain virtual planet Arthurus-IV, where the force of gravity (if it exists) is facing up or in a circle, or will to grow, then decrease. The inhabitants of the planet can be one-legged or blind, or to have certain superhuman abilities. Having worked on issues related to design for this planet buildings, vehicles, communications, etc, the student returns to earthly tasks with the firm belief that there is not only one possible way to create any type of product.
- Best creative abilities develop when a student is involved in the real work (research, design). Increasing student interest in the subject, it encourages the development of creative abilities. Therefore, the Department must attract students to their studies.
- To existing disciplines “Introduction to specialty”, “History of technology”, “Pedagogics of higher school”, it is advisable to enter the section “Engineering creativity”.
- To establish at the University a permanent methodical seminar for teachers and students of the methods and practices of creative learning.
- Nurturing creative individuals must be “personal”, the piece or the results of their work should be celebrated and highlighted in the press. Mark needs and their teachers.
- To organize a University-wide seminar (or a course of lectures for masters and everyone on the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ).
- To promote and draw attention to engineering creativity to publish a Supplement to the newspaper “Kyiv Polytechnic” called “Engineering creativity” where to submit information about outstanding patents, technical ideas, creative home development like that, as it was in the magazine “Technics for youth” and “rural youth”.
- To complement existing and new agreements of the Commonwealth of NTUU “KPI” with foreign universities sections on cooperation and exchange of experience with creative learning.
- Create temporary creative team from among the University professors and industry representatives to develop a distance course “fundamentals of engineering creativity” and make this course a hallmark of NTUU “KPI”.
It would be desirable to subsequently provide remote access to relevant software systems type of “Thinking machine” (USSR) or “Тесh Optimizer” (USA).