In this interview, Dr. Monique Canto-Sperber, Philosopher and President of the Foundation Paris Sciences et Lettres in France, discusses why we need creativity. She argues that creativity is absolutely necessary in a fast-moving world in order to explore new possibilities and generate innovation. Sometimes this creativity grows out of a natural feeling of dissatisfaction with the way things are.
She goes on to outline how her academic institution has fostered creativity in fields where it was not very present before, such as engineering – training engineers to be innovators, patent new discoveries and start businesses. In her words, “It’s a way of putting innovation at the heart of very very high-level scientific research”. Paris Sciences et Lettres also puts creation at the heart of the academic training of artists.