What does innovation mean to you?
GLASGOW Science Centre will open its new permanent exhibition, Idea No59, on Thursday, March 19. Idea No59 celebrates innovation and how it has and will change our world.
The £1.1million exhibition was designed in close collaboration with industry and academia to showcase the innovation taking place in Scotland and make the technologies relevant to visitors.
Health and care, the environment and the workplace are all being transformed by innovation, and the team at the Glasgow Science Centre is determined that Idea No59 will inspire a future generation of innovators.
Why is innovation so important? We asked some of the team to tell us what innovation means to them.
Lorna McKenzie, communications officer
“If you’ve ever had to stir the sugar in your tea with a fork instead of a spoon, that’s innovation. Innovation can also be developing a compound that can be used to 3D print arteries so surgical students don’t have to practice on actual humans. There’s less human sacrifice involved in tea stirring, but it’s still figuring out a way to do something differently.
“To me, innovation is about adapting. It’s about taking something that isn’t working, and finding a way to make it work. It doesn’t have to be a product that’s going to sell millions and be deemed successful. It’s not about creating the next big thing or disrupting the market, but about making the market that little bit easier to navigate.”
Steven Hill, graphic designer Like many of us, I take innovation for granted: millions of ideas are being developed every day. Many of these ideas will secretly make my life easier.
Each innovative new product has been influenced by the decades of development that went before it. Creativity means looking back as well as forward for inspiration, critical thinking allows us to adapt and improve, communication helps us understand what matters to each of us, while collaboration helps us make things that we can all feel part of. I think these ‘four Cs’ are skills we can all work on.
Tara Gibson, learning coordinator At a time when humans are realising that the pace of careless development is having stark consequences on our environment, the word innovation feels like both the curse that brought us to this point and the blessed saviour.
Innovation is about making changes and introducing new methods. If the human race can think creatively about how we can introduce change, both big and small, then we could manage to reverse some of the damage.
We must act quickly on this and we must act together. We need to get people excited about the possibilities that creative thinking could bring, consider the positives from the past, the useful tools, the deeper understanding we now have of science and technology. How can we use all of this knowledge to make positive change?
Our ability to innovate may very well determine our future. Innovation is our chance.
Chris Banks, events coordinator Around 3500 BC a clever cookie of a caveman invented the wheel, 600 BC saw the discovery of static electricity, 1206 saw the first ever flushing toilet, and in 1928 sliced bread was packaged and sold for the first time.
“The greatest thing since sliced bread” is a popular phrase, but what would get your vote?
I have always considered the internet as the ultimate winner of this. We are lucky to be in an age where information can be shared instantaneously around the world. We have the world in our pockets, we can find answers to questions that we have always wanted to know and share that funny cat video to all our friends.
But what is next, and how do we get there? It starts with an idea, a creative spark. Where we can see a problem in the world that needs solving. This problem could be as great as solving the climate crisis or as figuring out how to stop the forks going missing in the staff room. That spark needs to be fuelled, work on your idea, give it purpose and meaning. And from there, who knows – you might be the next greatest thing.