Academy of Strategic Creativity: University-wide partnerships result in new professional development offering

From leadership programs for emerging and advanced leaders to an academy focused on strategic communications, the University of Florida offers a variety of in-depth professional development opportunities for UF faculty and staff. This year, the offerings have grown to include an exciting new program focused on creativity called the Academy of Strategic Creativity.

For more than 10 years, UFHR Training & Organizational Development (T&OD) has offered two yearlong, in-depth leadership programs for emerging and advanced leaders at the University of Florida: The UF Academy and Advanced Leadership for Academics and Professionals. More recently, T&OD partnered with the UF College of Journalism and Communications to introduce a seven-month Strategic Communications Academy for thought leaders to enhance their communications skills.

The latest addition to its in-depth programs is the Academy of Strategic Creativity, a seven-month program designed for faculty and staff at any point in their career who wish to unlock their creative potential, generate fresh thinking and implement new and powerful ideas.

Along with the UF Center for Arts in Medicine and College of Journalism and Communications, T&OD is pleased to offer this new academy, which will be held from May through November of this year. Designed for faculty and staff ready to take their creative and strategic thinking skills to the next level, this lively, engaging and research-based program will help:

  • Apply the behaviors, thinking tools and frameworks of the world’s most creative people to imagine and formulate multiple solutions to challenging problems
  • Recognize and overcome the common barriers that stifle creativity within individuals and organizations
  • Align creativity with strategic thinking
  • Systematically identify the right problems for you and your team to tackle
  • Articulate big challenges in ways that inspire and motivate others
  • Implement best practices for generating creative and innovative ideas within a group dynamic
  • Strengthen ideas through effective prototyping, testing and reflecting
  • Formulate an executable plan for launching an innovative solution

Applications to the Academy of Strategic Creativity are due March 31. All UF faculty members and TEAMS staff members are eligible to apply. To learn more or apply, visit https://leadership.hr.ufl.edu/programs/asc/.

Please note: The application period for the UF Academy and Advanced Leadership will be held throughout the month of April. Watch for further details in upcoming issues of UF at Work.

Questions? Contact Scott Blades, MEd, at (352) 392-4626 or sblades1@ufl.edu.