What’s Next – The Creative Spark conference is enabling conversations between youth and creative leaders to address wicked problems using creativity

In today's world, a creative mindset is critical when it comes to complex problem solving. Organisations, irrespective of their size, are factoring in creativity into all their decisions at every stage. Creativity enables them to be more empathetic when building a product and getting into the user’s shoes. In fact, emerging technologies like AR, VR, IoT, 3D printing have made this easier. Today’s youngsters are all about a world that's free from social norms and standardisation, and try to solve problems creatively.

That said, can creativity suffice when it comes to solving urgent and critical problems plaguing society? How can you maintain a creative momentum to solve challenges in areas like healthcare, gender equality and inclusivity, water and food shortage, climate change and unclean energy? Pearl Academy presents the ‘What's Next – The Creative Spark’ conference

to answer some very pertinent questions from the youth of today.

Bringing creativity and technology under a single roof

What's Next – The Creative Spark, a two-day World Café method conference by Pearl Academy, will be held on February 22-23, 2019 at Hotel Novotel, Mumbai. The aim is to build a creative bridge between avant-garde experiments in technology and their potential to make a social impact. The event will bring together global design educators, industry experts, policy makers, international design professionals, thought leaders and students to converse on three themes – Urgent Matters, Creative Leadership and Edge of our Imagination.

In fact, this is the first time the What's Next series was launched with a What's Next @ Campus edition on February 21 across Pearl Academy's campuses at Delhi, Noida, Jaipur and Mumbai. Over 50 industry and academic experts from across the spectrum visited the institution's campuses and conducted sessions based on the themes of the conference with nearly 1500 students. The multi-city interaction will now culminate in Mumbai.

This invite-only event will witness a gathering of 150 changemakers including Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog), Sharad Mehra (President, Creative Arts Education Society - Pearl Academy), Nina Sabnani (Professor, IDC, IIT Mumbai), Dr. Marisha McAuliffe (Academic Head, Darlo Higher Education), Ashoke Chatterjee (Advisor, Centre for Heritage Management), Shobha Mishra Ghosh (Assistant Secretary General, FICCI), Claudio Moderini (Design Director, Innovation By Design), Manjula Rao (Director Education, British Council), Meher Castelino (Fashion/Lifestyle Journalist) and more. They will be discussing topics like rethinking urbanisation, equity-based social justice, disruptive education models, cross-cultural appreciation, nano-technology, among others.

What to expect from the conference

Students will get to engage in collaborative dialogues with the who’s who of the industry and discuss possibilities for constructive actions. The format of the event is based on the World Cafe method, where attendees can move between tables, meet new people, exchange ideas and solve problems collectively. Attendees are encouraged to write, doodle or draw key ideas, phrases or symbols that emerge during their conversations, 

The event will also feature competitions for both students and faculty members. The student competition will recognise cutting-edge, innovative ideas that address urgent issues of today. The faculty competition will celebrate teachers who have enabled creativity in their teaching practices, thereby inspiring young learners to create change.

This edition of the competition will focus on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals framework by UNDP for both the student projects as well as teaching practices.

Preparing today’s youth to be tomorrow’s creative leaders

Technology can become a creative medium in the hands of the young generation to address and eradicate global problems and work towards a more sustainable future. The conference is all about the future and what happens next. Pearl Academy wants to help students get on the same table as industry and corporates to have an open dialogue on what the future holds.

The vision is that the conversation doesn’t end with just the event, but continues afterwards as well so that it ultimately translates into real action. Know more.