Engine Group, home to Partners Andrews Aldridge and Fuel, has been appointed to work on a 3-year project funded by the European Commission to explore new ways to stimulate creativity through “brain power”.
The EC has identified creativity as an essential driver for cultural diversity in Europe, with the creative industries employing millions of people across the EU and contributing a substantial share to the economy.
As part of the brief Engine will work with six internationally-renowned Research Institutions, including Università di Bologna (Italy), Fondazione Guglielmo Marconi (Marconi Institute for Creativity, Italy), Goldsmiths’ College (UK), Medizinische Universitaet Wien (Austria), Guger Technologies (Austria) and the Universidad de la Laguna (Spain).
The project, entitled Cream (creativity enhancement through advanced brain mapping and stimulation), aims to develop new brain mapping technologies to identify the main brain activities related to the creative thinking process in the scientific and artistic domains.
It will at first look to determine the best ways to benchmark creativity, and identify the most effective ways for it to be measured both in art and science.
Phase two of the project will then explore possible new ways to enhance and embed levels of creativity in individuals, using various forms of stimulation and training techniques devised by the research teams.
Approaches will include several cognitive methodologies to measure the creative process, different brain mapping techniques, as fMRI and EEG, and different stimulation procedures, e.g., trans-cranial stimulation.
Engine will provide practical expertise to help researchers define and test the various stimulus and training methods, as well as helping to establish and understand how the techniques can be applied successfully to the real world/end user environment.
Engine chief strategy officer Pete Edwards said: “Creativity is such an important asset, and the opportunity to explore new and innovative ways of enhancing it is very exciting. This project allows us to take a fresh look at what stimulates the creative mind, and could prove to throw up some answers that may significantly impact the way people and businesses think and act in the future.”
Related stories
Partners and Fuel get DWP boost
Partners bolsters senior line-up
Engine Group profits power up 46%
Aldridge fires up Engine Roller win
Engine Group lands postal sale brief
Phil Andrews joins Adwords agency
Ping takes chief exec job at Fuel
Phil Andrews quits agency world
Partners lures Jones to top role
Partners woos CMW new biz chief
Nieri quits CMW for Partners role
Engine nets EC creativity brief http://t.co/4FJwWUeIU1