An Exploration of Creative, Innovative, and Cultural Experiences in the United Arab Emirate’s Higher Education System from a Socio-Psychological Perspective (Redacted)

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been focusing on transforming to an innovation-based knowledge economy, as seen in a few national strategies and initiatives. In 2015, an Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) course was introduced to all higher education institutes (HEIs) in the UAE, with the purpose of teaching students how to be creative and innovative. This educational initiative is part of the nation’s plan to transform to a culture of innovation. This backdrop of a nationally mandated HEI course provides a unique context to explore.

Furthermore, another goal of the country is to preserve Emirati culture amidst global and local changes and challenges. Prior research into the I&E course in the context of the UAE revealed very little about culture or cultural embeddedness. This sets the already unique situation apart even further.

This study is firmly aligned with innovation and cultural goals of the UAE. It is a data-driven exploration of creativity, innovation, and culture in HEIs from the perspectives of three stakeholders of the innovation ecosystem, using an adapted form of Grounded Methodology (Hayhoe, 2020). In the first Open Phase of research, the UAE government perspective is explored through relevant national, innovation, and higher education strategy documents. In the second Axial Phase, experiences of a group of Emirati I&E students from a federal college in the north of the UAE were explored. Over a 16-week period, semi-structured interviews and creative tasks were conducted, and participants shared creative, innovative, and cultural experiences. In the third Selective Phase, I&E faculty interviews, observations of I&E innovation events and field/coaching notes were explored.

Findings included that the I&E experience in this context led students to feel more creative and innovative, and to have heightened skills such as communication, leadership, and critical thinking, confirming earlier studies (Bielenberg et al., 2018; Ghafar, 2020; Gilbert, 2022; Vally et al., 2019). Significantly, students reported that how they learned creativity and innovation was due to effects of teacher feedback and structured support, inside and outside the classroom; support that was unique to many of the students’ HEI experiences. However, disparities between faculty and student perceptions may indicate issues around the need for greater awareness and training.

Results also showed that the I&E course is adapting and evolving, moving from informally embedding culture and local issues to doing so formally. This systematic integration of cultural elements into I&E curriculum is aligning student learning to government strategic aims. Notably, results indicate the potential for richer and deeper use of collectivist Emirati cultural constructs to further enhance innovation transformation.

This study is aligned with national innovation and cultural goals of the UAE. It contributes to the body of knowledge by addressing a unique research field with limited local research from an Emirati perspective. Furthermore, the study highlights further research possibilities which could lead to deeper, richer cultural experiences for students, alongside suggestions for educational policy.  

Date of Award	26 Jun 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Simon Hayhoe (Supervisor) & Elisabeth Barratt Hacking (Supervisor)