Aalto University Summer School
Aalto University Summer School offers high quality academic summer courses and programs at Aalto University.
Introduction to Creativity
Creativity allows us to view and solve problems and complex challenges more innovatively and open-mindedly. This summer course will give you the tools to unlock your own creative potential through hands-on exercises tied to creativity.
Teaching period:
-
Application period:
1.2.2024 – 31.5.2024
Course format:
Campus
Duration:
2 weeks
part-time
Course level:
Undergraduate
Field of study:
Art and design
Credits:
2 ECTS
Organiser:
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Tuition fees:
590€
The ability to think creatively is a critical asset in today’s society and working life. It allows us to stay innovative and approach challenges with new perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking while navigating the complexities of the modern world.
The course Introduction to Creativity gives you fundamental knowledge about the mechanisms of creativity. After the course, students will be able to understand the definition of creativity, innovation and imagination, factors that enhance and kill creativity, intuition as part of creativity, and limitations as a resource for being creative.
This interdisciplinary course welcomes students from all fields: engineering, business, education, arts, and others who are simply curious about tapping into their creative potential. The students are encouraged to find new cross-disciplinary perspectives and get to know their strengths through a series of lectures, workshops, discussions, and assignments.
The course aims to explore the creative process with examples from the creative industries and art. With instructors hailing from the film industry, the assignments involve writing, but various other creative exercises are explored as well.
Preparation exercise
- Take a challenge in your work or personal life that you want to creatively solve during the course using the new knowledge. Write a motivation letter on how to apply creativity in your work and life.
Lecture weeks (22/7-2/8/2024)
- Contact sessions (Monday-Friday, 3h daily). The first week focuses on theory, and the second week on practical exercises and discussions to integrate theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience.
Post-session assignment
- Essay. Reflections on creativity in student’s own work based on the lectures and literature suggested in the course or other peer-reviewed literature on creativity.
The course offers a broadened view on creativity, making tacit creativity visible. After completing the course, the student is able to:
- integrate academic and practice-based creativity research knowledge with their real-life challenges
- recognize various implications of creativity in the creative process, the creative product, and the circumstances influencing creativity
- grasp the mechanisms of creativity in group collaboration and individual settings
- understand how imagination, senses, emotions, and subconscious work together in the creative process
Course workload
| Pre-work session assignment | 4 h |
| Contact hours, intensive course participation | 30 h |
| Individual studying and assignments | 20 h |
| Total | 54 h |
The course is graded as pass/fail.
Assessments and assignments
The course assignments include:
- reflective journal
- discussions
- reading material: Vlad Glăveanu (2021), Creativity: A very short Introduction
- small exercises
Participants must have completed a high school or vocational degree or equivalent by the time the course starts. However, they do not have to be a degree student at a university to participate in our courses. This course does not require previous experience in the topic.
Additionally, all summer school course students must be 18 years or older, as it is the legal age in Finland.
The applications are mainly accepted on a first come, first admitted approach.
In your application, please include a motivation letter or video where you explain why you are interested in taking this course. The recommended length for the motivation letter is 150-250 words, and the video is 1-2 minutes.
If you need a visa, we recommend applying by April 15th 2024
- This is to ensure that we have enough time to process your application and that you have time to make the tuition fee payment, book a visa appointment and wait for the application to be processed.
- You can apply and be accepted to the courses after April 15th. In that case, we recommend that you pay at your earliest convenience so that we can deliver your invitation letter to you promptly.
- According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, the processing time for a visa application is 15 days. However, the processing time may be longer if a more detailed application examination is required.
Tuition fees for undergraduate courses
- One course: 590€ (incl. VAT 24%)
- Two courses: 900€ (incl. VAT 24%)
- Additional courses 400€ per course
There is no special partnership discount on undergraduate courses.
The tuition fee does not apply to Aalto University degree students. However, undergraduate courses offered by Aalto University Summer School can not be included in Aalto degree studies.
Unfortunately, Aalto University Summer School does not offer scholarships for participants.
Programme fee
The social program and its pricing will be published before the application period starts.
Please note that the course fees do not cover accommodation, daily meals, or transportation during the course.
Learn about the Aalto University Summer School cancellation terms. You will receive the full terms before making the payment and confirming the course participation.
Teacher Information
Kirsi Reinola is a versatile writer, researcher, and educator with a rich experience in the field of art. With over two decades of experience, Kirsi has excelled in various roles, including freelance writer and researcher, project manager, partner, and strategist. In addition to her practical experience, Reinola is actively engaged in academia, teaching and lecturing at Aalto University and other institutions.
Reinola has a background in professional screenwriting for film and television. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at Aalto University. Her interdisciplinary research draws from academic fields such as cognitive film studies, creativity, creative writing, literary studies, and psychology.
In her research, she specialises in the micro-phenomenological interview and analysis method advocated by the neurobiologist Francisco Varela. Reinola’s study on emotional transportation in screenwriting bridges multiple disciplines and offers insights into the power of imagination, human cognition, emotion, and the role of empathy, identification, and narrative affect in shaping fiction.
Elisabeth Morney honed her competence in interdisciplinary creativity in 2015 at the University of Georgia at the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, USA. In 2021, she served as the chair of the international Aalto Creativity Symposium, which brought together participants from 15 different countries. She has lectured and presented on topics related to non-domain-specific creativity in universities and organisations across Finland, Norway, Spain, the United States, Japan, and Uruguay.
Since 2023, she holds the position of Director at the Global Creativity Initiative, an emerging organisation with the goal of connecting professionals and academics interested in interdisciplinary creativity.
Morney is in the final stages of her doctoral dissertation at Aalto University's School of Arts, Department of Film and Television. Her research focuses on innovation and creativity in the context of the creative process for the development of audiovisual concepts and formats. Morney is also an experienced content producer, editor, director, and facilitator with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry since 1990, earning several awards.
Summer School Team
Extracurricular programme for undergraduate summer studies
Get to know your coursemates and Finland through engaging extracurricular activities
Undergraduate Summer School application form (external link)
Use this form to apply to Aalto University Summer School undergraduate courses
Undergraduate summer courses
We offer multidisciplinary academic summer courses for undergraduate students.
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