Learn about creativity from individual and organisational perspectives, and how to create and lead transformative change.
Learn radical creativity
Radical creativity is continuous learning: experiments, imagination, and agency. The best way to become more creative is through doing – through trial and error
We are increasingly finding ourselves in new situations that require learning. We need courage and creativity as individuals, organisations, and as a society. This requires openness and the ability to seize new opportunities. Major, systemic changes also call for good communication skills, empathy, and psychological and embodied self-awareness.
The capabilities of radical creativity provide a world full of possibilities and hope: everyone can take actions towards a better tomorrow.
The era of continuous change also requires the ability to tolerate uncertainty. We need flexibility, persistence, resilience, and the ability to unlearn outdated thinking patterns. Sometimes it is necessary to pause and reserve time and space for the new to emerge. It is important to find a good balance between inner reflection and visible action.
You can learn radical creativity
On this page, you will find courses, lectures, and content related to learning radical creativity.
Aalto University organised two summer schools on radical creativity in 2024. The program and registration for the next summer school will open in Spring 2025.
Why should everyone study creativity right now?
Chief Human Resources Officer Riitta Silvennoinen is encouraging employees to be radical by taking time for learning. All staff at Aalto have the opportunity to take a basic course in radical creativity during their working hours.
Boost your skills: learn the basics of radical creativity
Creative thinking and related ability to change are core competencies of the future in all fields. Aalto University launched a free online introductory course on radical creativity in Finnish and English on November 14, 2024.
Increase your team's interaction and ability to change
Stress decreases our wellbeing, creativity and capacity for change. Radical Creativity team organised two embodied practices workshops to boost collective resilience and renewal. You can try the exercises with your team.
Courses
Learn about creativity from individual and organisational perspectives, and how to create and lead transformative change.
Become more creative problem-solver by learning how to learn through exploration and experimentation.
Aalto University Summer School
Aalto University Summer School offers high quality academic summer courses and programs at Aalto University.
Are you prepared to explore radical creativity this August?
The Radical Creativity Summer School inspires and guides participants to explore and experiment with innovative methods of working towards a more sustainable future. 'This is a condensed package of inspiration, akin to a candy shop where you can sample a variety of flavours.'
Learn to think like an entrepreneur and to solve real-world problems by creating something new.
The world around is largely shaped by business, for better or worse. The New Sustainability in Business is a hands-on, easily accessible open online course that explains how businesses can create sustainable value – not only for the economy, but also for the environment and society. The course is especially designed for business practitioners and university students interested in themes like corporate social responsibility, sustainable value creation and leading change towards sustainability. The course – supported with latest academic research and other key resources – contains 13 engaging and concise lessons that can be completed in a fully self-paced manner.
Get to know challenge-based, creative teaching and pedagogy
Students accelerate product development – PDP courses at Design Factory for 25 years
The semester-long PDP course brings together students from different fields to take on a real-life challenge. In the latest course, which ended in May, the students improved the production of a packaging material and developed a new steering system for electric boats.
Biomaterials are the best options as we seek more sustainable ways for our current world of materials.
Ohjelma yhdistää muotoilun ja teknologian globaaliin liiketoiminnan kehitykseen.
Master's student Noah Peysson: ‘I learnt problem solving from the holistic aspect of the Creative Sustainability programme’
The program also helped me develop a more critical perspective on the information and solutions that are given to us.
Design Factory
Design Factory develops creative ways of working and enhanced interdisciplinary interaction to support world-class product design in educational, research and practical application contexts.
Aalto Ventures Program
AVP was
The students' electrical workshop space was inaugurated as Vilho Väisälä’s workshop in Otaniemi
The donations of Vilho Väisälä's descendants, the Weisell Foundation and Vaisala Corporation have enabled the long-term development of Aalto University.
Collaboration
'We cannot solve today’s complex challenges with traditional approaches' –– dozens of Finnish organisations support Aalto's radical creativity initiative
Aalto University launches a free online course to make the basics of radical creativity accessible to all
Creative Leap: Creativity as a competitive advantage in business
The co-research project researches creativity as a competitive advantage and explores if creative approaches correlate with financial success
Did you know that creativity can be measured? Check out recent survey results
The Creative Working Life 2030 project develops tools for measuring and strengthening individual and organisational creativity. Aalto University's experts participated in the development of the creativity self-assessment survey.
Aalto University partnering with the World Circular Economy Forum WCEF2023
The World Circular Economy Forum WCEF will bring together the world's leading circular economy professionals in Helsinki in May-June 2023.
The LuoTo action plan has been published providing outlines for a sustainable future in the creative industries
The LuoTo project brings together sustainability projects in the creative industries and sets out concrete steps for the creative industries' transition to an ecologically sustainable, low-carbon future.
Oasis of Radical Wellbeing
Social sustainability in practice.
Openings
Tuomas Auvinen: Radical creativity as culture
Creativity is experimenting, and therefore a valuable skill for us all to master in a constantly changing and complex world. Radical creativity does not appear overnight, but we can build capabilities for it, says Dean Tuomas Auvinen.
Learning for the future: systemic solutions require new ways of learning and collaborating
Aalto offers its staff a chance to experiment with transformative learning method, that can initiate changes in mindsets and remove invisible barriers to creativity
Ambiguous problems require new types of leadership
In the future, automation will handle routine tasks, so even newcomers to the workforce will be required to work on complex problems. What should be considered when leading multidisciplinary teams that solve these kinds of challenging problems?
Five things everyone needs to know about boosting the sustainable bioeconomy
Assistant Professor Luana Dessbesell explains what makes bioinnovation truly sustainable and how to avoid challenges that stalk growth entrepreneurs.
Out of Fashion – Aalto LASER Talks
Future visions and concrete steps towards the sufficiency paradigm in fashion
DesignTalks highlights the relevance of good design and how it benefits us all
Find all DesignTalks recordings here – they're available for everyone, offering an opportunity to easily explore the role and relevance of design in different contexts
Radical Collaboration – Aalto LASER Talk
To address the existential challenges we face today, we require truly transformative and border-crossing collaboration. But how can we achieve this? Watch the video recording of our afterwork event.
Radical Creativity fostering re-thinking
Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn. But as the world is changing at a pace like never before, the most crucial skill may be the ability to think again and unlearn.
How an exciting engineering challenge drew a physicist into solar painting
A scientist and an artist worked together to produce a painting that produces electricity, as well as a transdisciplinary podcast. Next, they want to let audiences see all the beautiful things that researchers are normally too shy to showcase.
Books
Design builds transformation capacity
The book Designing Change is a quick and readable cross-section of Aalto's world-leading design research
Read more
Radical Creativity
There is no set recipe for changing the world. It takes courage and grit to boldly create something new without fearing failure.
Examples of radical creativity
Radical creativity fundamentally transforms mindsets and ways of operating
Community of radical creativity
Participate in our events or visit our living room of radical creativity, Space 21.