{"id":20199,"date":"2025-01-27T15:23:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T14:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.univie.ac.at\/?p=20199"},"modified":"2025-02-25T15:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T14:02:09","slug":"out-of-the-box-creativity-in-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.univie.ac.at\/en\/life-at-uni\/out-of-the-box-creativity-in-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of the box: Creativity in Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students from the Vienna International School of Earth and Space Sciences (VISESS) set up the ‘Big Picture Event’ in May 2024 and focussed on how to bring creativity into research. In this blog article, they talk about how it went.<\/span><\/p>\n

When conducting scientific research, there are many ways to go about it \u2013 but are there ways that can combine our academic interests with other passions or hobbies? What benefits can we gain from this as researchers? Can this also influence us on a more personal level? These were the questions that we set out to answer during our Big Picture Event<\/a> on 28 May 2024, at the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy (FGGA)<\/a>. It was organized by us, a team made up of students from the Vienna International School of Earth and Space Sciences (VISESS)<\/a>: Kamila (Earth branch), Paula (Earth branch), Paulina (Earth branch), Qilei (Anthroposphere branch), and Stefanie (Cosmos branch). Our goal for this event was to inspire students and senior researchers alike, to think beyond conventional boundaries and to bring even more joy into our research.<\/p>\n

“We get so busy through the process of achieving things, missing the beauty in what we do.” <\/span><\/p>\n

– Anonymous Feedback<\/span>\u00a0<\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n

How it started\u2026<\/b><\/h3>\n

Our original idea came about after discussing the subject of how to be our most authentic self in academia. We discussed what that means as a concept, and how to convey this both in our research and in how we present ourselves. Eventually, this led us to think about creativity and its importance in both the work that we do and in our mental health. We proposed our event during the interdisciplinary Big Picture Seminars at VISESS and soon started to think of how to make this a hands-on event.<\/p>\n

The main motivation was to bring a renewed sense of joy into the workflow of scientists. We were aware of how scientific research, particularly in highly rigorous and specialized fields such as geosciences, is often guided by established methodologies, and how easy it is to lose sight of the wonders of the various fields that we study. So, we were\u00a0 sure that we needed to incorporate something creative into the process. Additionally, this topic has not been discussed at the FGGA before, which definitely drove us and made us curious to dive into it. After some initial research, we also found that we wanted to draw attention to some of the incredible artists who combine art and science and to give them a floor to talk about things they love. And last but not least – just to have fun!<\/p>\n

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\u2026 how it went!<\/b><\/h3>\n

The event unfolded in three distinct segments: a video presentation \u201cCases in Creativity\u201d, presentations by two highly motivating speakers, and an interactive creative workshop. We received 43 registrations from interested individuals, of which 29 participated in the workshop. Our attendees included undergraduate students, PhD candidates, PostDocs, and professors, hailing from various academic departments such as the Department of Astrophysics, Department of Geography and Regional Research, Department of Palaeontology, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, the Vienna Biocenter, Department of Geology, and the Department of Lithospheric Research. Registrations poured in from several doctoral schools, including the Vienna Doctoral School in Chemistry, the Vienna International School of Earth and Space Sciences, the Doctoral School in Education, and the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution. Additionally, we had online participants joining from the University of Padova and Heriot-Watt University.<\/p>\n

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