Edward de Bono Institute Research presented at international conferences

Over the summer months, academics and doctoral candidates at the University of Malta’s Edward de Bono Institute for Creative Thinking and Innovation are presenting their research at various peer-reviewed international conferences on topics related to creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and futures studies.

During the month of June, Institute director Dr Leonie Baldacchino and former student Nadia Boffa presented a paper on the role of intuition and analysis in entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation at the European Academy of Management (EURAM) annual conference.

During a Doctoral Colloquium, held as part of this conference, two of the Institute’s PhD candidates, Kristina Buhagiar and Oliver Saliba, presented an overview of their research work in progress. Buhagiar is investigating how innovation in boutique hotels in Malta emerges through knowledge resources and capabilities, while Saliba is exploring the sense-making process of employees during innovation adoption.

Also in June, another of the Institute’s PhD candidates, Izumi Nonaka, presented an indepth case study on the entrepreneurial orientation of a small Maltese business during the International Small Islands Studies Association conference organised by the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. Additionally, Ing. Joseph Bartolo, who is conducting his PhD research on business model assessment, participated in pre-conference workshops held in connection with the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference.

In July, Dr Petra Caruana Dingli presented a paper on the concept of creativity in the writings of William Morris at the Power of the Word International Conference VI: The Call of Literature. Later in the month, Dr Baldacchino and Dr Margaret Mangion delivered a presentation at the Southern Oregon University Creativity conference on the factors that contribute to creative career aspirations of Maltese secondary school students. This research forms part of a larger study that they conducted together with Dr Marie Briguglio from the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy on the impact of the Kreattiv funding programme, financed by the Arts Council Malta.

Conference participation will resume this month with a presentation by Dr Mangion, Dr Baldacchino and Dr Briguglio at the University of Bologna’s Marconi Institute for Creativity on the measurement of creativity through divergent thinking tests and another by Dr Mangion at the Aalto Creativity Symposium in Vaasa on how students in Malta perceive creativity and what attributes they link to this concept.

In October, Professor Sandra M. Dingli, Dr Baldacchino and Buhagiar will present a paper at the Business Model conference in Copenhagen on the use of the Scamper idea generation tool to instigate revenue stream innovation. Dr Caruana Dingli, Professor Dingli and Dr Lisa Pace will then present a paper at the Muze-X: Shaping Museum Futures conference organised by the Department of Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education at the University of Malta on 1820 October. Dr Caruana Dingli will also present a paper at the conference Rupture: A Historical Perspective organised by the Malta Historical Society on 27-29 October.

Finally, Buhagiar, Professor Dingli and Dr Pace will present a paper at the 13th international conference on Knowledge Management and Information Systems on a knowledge-based model of service innovation.

Dr Baldacchino expressed satisfaction at the Institute’s active engagement in the international academic community: “This is crucial for maintaining the Institute’s international reputation as a centre for excellence in our subject areas,” she said. “It not only extends our networks and contributes to global scholarly debates, but it also ensures that our students benefit from lectures and tutoring that are informed by the latest research.”

Applications for the October intake of the Master in Creativity and Innovation (full/part-time) are open until 30 September against the University of Malta’s late application fee.

Students who successfully complete this programme are eligible for tax credits through the Get Qualified scheme offered by the Ministry for Education and Employment.

For further information visit the Institute’s website or Facebook page, send an email or phone on 2340 2434 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am-1.30pm)