Homo ludens på universitetet

This essay draws on a paper presented at the Young Academy of Sweden’s workshop “Universities as Creative Environments?” held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on October 17, 2011. Starting with a brief overview about creativity as a concept and as an object of academic study, results from a wide range of research on conditions for creative research environments, past and present, are summarized and discussed. Three findings regarding collaborative scientific research are highlighted: 1) small research groups (4–10 scientists) seem to be more creative than large ones; 2) heterogeneous research groups seem to be more creative than homogeneous ones; and 3) creativity in research groups appears to be stimulated by both “structural instability” (concerning organization and academic freedom) and “structural stability” (concerning trust and long term funding). Furthermore, it is argued that truly creative environments are vulnerable and difficult to create; they typically develop organically, from below, rather than being the result of top-down politics or university management. If these findings are correct – and if creative research is the ultimate goal – there may be reasons to re-think the benefits of large and strictly organised research programs, such as the so-called “centres of excellence”, “strong research environments” and “strategic research fields” so frequently promoted in current European research policy.