Creativity is a must at Suffolk
Jake Sherman, a first year student, is an example. Sherman and his classmates developed a game called Trashtrack, which was inspired by Operation.
Trash Track players compete against each other to remove human-generated garbage from large stuffed animals, such as toothpaste tubes or electronics components.
“Players learn about the negative impact that waste can have on animals and the environment,” explains Sherman. Students are also learning how to solve real-world problems using creative problem-solving skills.
All first-year students in both the College of Arts & Sciences and Sawyer Business School are required to take a Creativity & Innovation (CI) course. Students have their pick of more than 50 courses from 23 different disciplines, including The Entrepreneur’s Cocktail, Failing Successfully, and Creating Social Change: From Theory to Activism.
“We live in a chaotic world, and we need to find new approaches to face challenging situations around us,” says George Moker, a professor of management and entrepreneurship who co-directs of Suffolk’s First-Year Programs.
Innovative solutions to long-standing problems
First-year student Grace Owens says that while she’s never considered herself particularly creative, she was intrigued by the sound of the Solutions for Sustainability course. “I’ve always been in interested in the environment and learning how to become a more sustainable person,” she says.
Instructor Joanna Trainor, EMBA ’07, has two goals: Teach students specific techniques they can use to approach problems in fresh ways, and introduce them to sustainable practices they can incorporate into their own lives.
There are no quizzes or tests; instead, the emphasis is on group collaboration — and on getting comfortable with risk taking and failures that lead to better solutions. Before designing a boardgame that promotes sustainability, students participate in five group presentations.
“It’s easier to be creative working in teams because students bounce ideas off each other and build on them,” says Trainor. “Many of the students tell me that working with others makes their ideas better.”
“I learned that creativity isn’t just about being the most unique or thinking outside the box,” says Owens, a psychology major. “I also learned that sustainability is about so much more than pollution and natural resources.”
One assignment required students to keep a waste journal that tracked every piece of trash they produced for a week. “It really helped me to become more self-aware,” says Owens. “I’ve continued conserving water, not using plastic water bottles, and reducing my unnecessary electricity use.”
Sherman, a double major in management and global business, was a big fan. “I got to know my peers on both an academic and personal level, developed some friendships, and grew my network at Suffolk,” he says. “I’ve always taken a leadership role when working in a group, and this class taught me more about who I am as a leader and what I can do better.”
“The students came up with so many amazing ideas,” says Trainor. “It was rewarding to see them make purposeful decisions around sustainability and not be afraid to apply new ideas to try and solve the impossible.”