Creativity is not simply coming up with random new ideas – such behaviour can, in fact, lead us far away from our main objective. When creative methods are used deliberately and purposefully, they enable us to stay focused and find innovative solutions that account for real-world constraints


Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Tartu, Meelis Kull, noted that when he discussed the creativity of computers with philosophers some twenty years ago, he was among the few who believed that a creative computer system was possible. Thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence, we now see that this is indeed the case. “One key to creativity is taking patterns from one abstract system and adapting them to another discipline. Creativity is not magic. To a large extent, it is an algorithmic system that requires practice to develop in the brain. AI can inspire us by helping to find such patterns,” Kull explained.

However, artificial intelligence has very clear limitations. “AI can assist in the creative process by carrying out in-depth background research on what already exists, but it may not reveal what is missing. This is where human creativity and imaginative work come into play, and where new knowledge is created,” Kull added.

Creative mentorship enriches the innovation playground

The Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship CAMP at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy aims to support creative entrepreneurs and help bring creative methods into the everyday practices of companies and teams.

In their workshop “Innovation playground – exploring creative mentorship”, the centre’s coordinator, Pille-Riin Lillepalu-Tubli and her colleague Anu Puulmann introduced methods that help stimulate creativity and make use of creative mentoring techniques on a daily basis. Participants took part in a role-play exercise in which they had to respond to ideas presented in small groups while consciously adopting a critical, supportive, or neutral stance. This made it possible to explore both positive and negative scenarios playfully and to gather input from outsiders who were not necessarily experts. “In the workshop, we focused on just one tool for boosting creativity, but play is certainly one way to free the mind. For example, design thinking helps experts from very different fields work together towards a common goal, or add a fresh perspective to well-established ideas,” Lillepalu-Tubli explained.

One pioneer in creative problem-solving is IDEO, a company founded in the USA in the 1950s and still influential today. It helped establish human-centred design thinking as a widely applicable, teachable and widely-used method across different fields. Viljandi Culture Academy is preparing to start offering mentoring support in the field of design thinking.

Creative approach eases the adoption of innovation

Creative methods are also necessary to help domesticate innovation – that is, to put innovative, research-based ideas into practice.

Meelis Kull shared an example from a research project carried out at the University of Bristol in the UK, where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher. In this project, ordinary people who could become future users of the results were involved right from the start. They were invited to learn about the researchers’ work and to offer creative input on which everyday problems scientific solutions could help alleviate. As a result, the team began developing sensors capable of detecting when an older person has fallen at home and automatically calling for help. “In this project, it was crucial to communicate early on with end users so they would later be willing to test the technology. We organised creative workshops to sketch what the future might look like. I can confirm that this helped,” Kull said.

Vice Rector for Research at the University of Tartu, Tõnu Esko, added that, just as creativity encourages researchers to seek innovative ideas in collaboration with researchers from other fields, it can also drive business success when entrepreneurs and researchers exchange ideas more frequently. According to him, a research-based approach is like an engine that helps make products and services more future-proof. Every sector – whether technology or the creative industries – stands to benefit from this.

During the sTARTUp Day panel discussion moderated by the Director of EIT Culture & Creativity North, Kati Uusi-Rauva, University of Tartu Professor of Artificial Intelligence Meelis Kull, Coordinator of the Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship Pille-Riin Lillepalu-Tubli, and Vice Rector for Research Tõnu Esko shared their thoughts.

The article is written by the University of Tartu.