Dr Leonie Baldacchino, director of the Edward de Bono Institute for the Design and Development of Thinking at the University of Malta, recently addressed a conference in Bangalore, India, entitled ‘ThinkCIQ: Creativity and Intelligences Quest’. The conference, which took place from July 11 to 13 at the Nimhans Convention Centre, marked the inauguration of a new initiative which aims to foster thinking and nurture talents among young people in India.
“Young people are a country’s greatest resource,” said Dr Baldacchino, “and each country should nurture and prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
“In a system that is inevitably preparing children for jobs that do not yet exist or that may be obsolete by the time they finish school, what they really need is to learn how to think, adapt, and recognise opportunities. This requires the development of creative and entrepreneurial mindsets.”
Dr Baldacchino delivered a keynote speech and participated in panel discussions on thinking, creativity and entrepreneurship alongside other internationally acclaimed speakers including Dr Sumantra Chaterjee from the Centre for Brain Development and Repair in Bangalore, Prof. David Yun Dai from the University at Albany, State University of New York, and Peter Hall Jones from The Curriculum Foundation in the UK.
In addition to the ThinkCIQ conference, which is planned to take place on an annual basis, the initiative includes a new quarterly journal and an online interactive portal www.thinkciq.in, where educators, parents, children and other stakeholders can share their ideas on how to foster thinking and nurture talents.
In a system that is preparing children for jobs that do not yet exist or that may be obsolete by the time they finish school, what they really need is to learn how to think, adapt, and recognise opportunities
Dr Baldacchino’s participation in the event was brought about through the close collaboration that the University has developed with Gear Foundation, led by Dr M. Srinivasan, chairman of Gear Innovative International School in Bangalore and co-founder of ThinkCIQ.
Her visit was coordinated by the University’s International and EU Office and she was accompanied by Megha Srivastav, the University’s head of operations in India.
The institute offers an MA in Creativity and Innovation, which can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis, and an International MSc in Strategic Innovation and Future Creation in collaboration with Potsfam University, Germany, and Turku University, Finland.
For further information e-mail instituteofthinking@um.edu.mt.
www.um.edu.mt/create