The business of creativity  If you’re new to education and haven’t discovered the most watched TED talk of all time ‘Do schools kill creativity?’ by Sir Ken Robinson I would highly recommend it. Back in 2006 Sir Ken delivered this presentation to a small audience in California. To date it has now been viewed by tens of millions of people, more than similar talks by Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs combined. Sir Ken’s core contention that ‘creativity is as important now as literacy and numeracy and should be given the same status’ clearly resonated, and not just with educators. In a recent study by PwC titled ‘The talent challenge: Harnessing the power of human skills in the machine age’ some of the most sought after skills needed in business such as adaptability, creativity and innovation are apparently the hardest to find, and most prized, in what is referred to as ‘today’s skills battleground’. As someone who runs a number of companies, this feels true. To solve the global challenges we face, creativity clearly isn’t optional. As a generalisation the business world seems to get this, yet despite the influence and reach of Sir Ken Robinsons thought leadership there remains a major disconnect between thinking and doing when it comes to aligning creativity in education with industry.

Inequality is a killer. Literally. It’s widely recognised and known from a wealth of research that specific economic and social deprivation variables have causality to health, wellbeing and prosperity. I’m an example of it. Growing up in a terraced house with a single parent who had a life limiting disability in a home with dangerous wiring and no hot water I learned at a young age that poverty sucks. For me education provided my first, and I later learned only opportunity to transform my life chances. The lesson I believe is clear. If we are to co-create a preferred future built on equity of access to health, wellbeing and happiness, education is the only way. 

Following the merger of Peterborough Regional College and New College Stamford to create the Inspire Education Group, the newly formed organisation wanted to provide a replacement for its intranet solution that would engage, enrich and inspire organisational culture through a cloud first communications platform accessible from any device and location. Happeo was selected as the preferred solution.

There’s no going back. There, now you don’t need to read the rest of this article. But seriously, I am writing this from a sunny retreat in my garden having held multiple video meetings throughout the day with clients and partners all over the UK and wider across the world. No need to travel, to pollute the planet or to waste time, aside from the health benefits. By using technology to save time and to be more productive, I’m able to get more time on my mountain bike than I ever could before the coronavirus pandemic hit, and for anyone who follows me on Twitter (@Cloudbusiness9) you’ll know just how much that means to me. 

Leading figures from across the UK education landscape have shared their experiences and insights into meeting the challenges of the global Covid-19 pandemic in a new report, ‘New, Next or Never Normal?’ published today (24 Jun).