Buffalo State Experts: Applied Creativity

Got a problem? Cyndi Burnett, assistant professor in the International Center for Studies in Creativity, can help you fix it.

Burnett is an expert in creativity—creative problem-solving, to be specific. And cultivating your own creativity is the way to strengthen your ability to figure out ways to solve a problem.

"Creativity is the process we go through to find a way to get from where we are to where we want to be," said Burnett. “It’s an innate human survival skill. If you’ve ever faced a challenge that does not have a straightforward solution, and then you came up with a new, useful idea—well, that’s being creative."

The study of creativity helps you identify each step in that process and ways to improve each step. As you become more adept in exercising your creativity, you find more ways to solve not only daily personal challenges but challenges in your career.

"In fact," said Burnett, "in a world where innovation is increasingly important, the study of creativity is a valuable workplace skill. Creativity helps you find novel ways not only to solve problems but to identify new areas for growth." The New York Times featured Burnett in an article about creativity as an academic discipline.

Burnett, in collaboration with her colleagues, put her own creativity to work to bring Buffalo State’s graduate programs in creativity to a wider audience. She was instrumental in developing “Ignite Your Everyday Creativity,” a free online course in creativity that will be launched in February through a partnership between the State University of New York and Coursera, a platform for online courses that are free and open to everyone.