How to kill creativity - ten easy steps

A cursory review of academic headlines would suggest that educational institutions can be perceived as formalized, regimented and systematic – intellectual factories that reward those staff and students who conform best to rigid systems which ensure the efficient processing of quantity. Is this the reality? Do prevailing economic and bureaucratic pressures in higher education, at best, stifle creativity or, at worst, actively eradicate creative thought? This paper asks whether there is a place for the successful teaching and development of marketing and entrepreneurial creative skills within the UK educational system, and if so how these newly merging pedagogical areas can be nurtured. The paper explores the interplay between creativity and conformity within a modern university system. It takes as a case study a marketing enterprise module taught within a Department of Design to highlight the issues faced and the outputs achieved. The investigation reviews current thought from the social sciences and management literature relating to creativity, creative marketing, entrepreneurship and creative problem solving.