The past seven days have marked the latest observance of “World Creativity and Innovation Week.” This annual celebration, according to its organizers, was conceived to “encourage and remind people to use their creativity (generating new ideas, making new decisions, taking new actions and achieving new outcomes) for innovation that makes the world a better place and makes their place in the world better too.”
Creativity and innovation, of course, generally begin with an idea. But sometimes the true catalyst for innovation is the adaptation of an existing idea – an approach, a method, a material – to some novel end. When scientists and scholars publish their results and include citations to explicitly acknowledge the sources underlying their work, they add to an ever-growing network in which the progression and branching of knowledge can be tracked. The ability to easily navigate citations in order to follow these threads and offshoots can illuminate connections that might otherwise be missed. And such connections can provide the inspiration to steer one’s research in a novel direction at exactly the right time.
To join in the celebration of this latest World Creativity and Innovation Week, we’ve pulled together some of our innovation-based articles for you to peruse. In these articles, you’ll read about individuals at universities, companies, and government agencies across the globe who are uncovering connections and finding their way to innovative breakthroughs.
Which Government agencies are leading the world in innovation 2017?
2016: State of research and innovation in India for a “Creative India, Innovative India”
Aydogan Ozcan’s research ‘vision’ helps put UC at the forefront of innovation
Researcher Highlight Series: Researching how digital technology enables innovation
After decades, cardiovascular gene therapy makes final push
Every Unique Drug Discovery Challenge Requires its Unique Solution
