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Christopher Rose

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This project aims to develop definite techniques and examples so that creative practices can be 'modelled' in the demanding context of interdisciplinary work. It is clear that practices in art & design (such as criticism, multiple representation, appreciation of paradox etc.,) can become integral to research areas that may have been previously described informally as 'purely scientific'. Evidence for this can be seen in the many art-science collaborations that have been funded and published in recent years, notably 'The Artful Eye' by Richard Gregory to cite just one. It is also said in the design field for example that 'the boundaries between disciplines are blurring'. While this may have some meaning for established practitioners of a discipline, what does this mean to students? A prototype creative development platform that acknowledges discipline-specific strengths while specifically considering the spaces between these, can go a long way to answering that, and the appreciation of its corollary, i.e. a clearer appreciation of a structure to creative practice.

There are three intended outcomes of this project:

1. A pedagogic model for developing trans-disciplinary workshops that explore ideas, projects or systems where contrasting approaches, disciplines and philosophies are brought together and ideas can be shared and exchanged within the creative development process.
2. The development and testing of a prototype intensive teaching and learning 'event' that draws from the workshops developed above and explores their findings. The model of 'event based teaching and learning' can be found in the context of scientific education (Event based instruction) but has rarely been overtly tested in the creative disciplines for undergraduate or postgraduate study. In addition to the experience generated by the event, a subsequent outcome would be in the development of a generalised set of principles used to frame the project that could then be tested in further events within the wider context of the school/faculty and CETL.
3. An illustrated publication of the processes, principles and effects of the proposed 'Shared Insight' project with contributions from the participants and which would be submitted for publication to a refereed journal and disseminated through the CETL network.