DMU tells Hong Kong festival the world needs our creative graduates

Creativity is set to be one of the most sought-after skills for businesses in the future - and the GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong will be showcasing just some of the innovations at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

The four-day festival, taking place 21-24 March and run by the UK’s Department for International Trade, focuses on how creativity, technology and innovation will change the way we work, live, learn and play in the years to come.

DMU is the sole education partner for the GREAT campaign, and will be part of a packed programme that includes keynote speakers, panel discussions and masterclasses looking at how businesses can make the most of new technologies and markets.

Professor Alison Honour, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities, said DMU’s expertise in innovative teaching offers new opportunities for the university to form new partnerships and showcase the work of our students and graduates at the Festival.

She said: “We are seeing a huge increase of interest not only around DMU as a partner, but in our expertise around innovative teaching, especially in the arts, design and humanities. We are seeing that the world, especially in Asia, is recognising that they need more creative graduates.

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“This is a real opportunity to share expertise. STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – is really important but until you put creativity with that to become STEAM, that’s when real creativity starts to happen.

“Our graduates are the future leaders, they are the change agents that we need to bring about those fantastic solutions to really complex problems that the world has and that our graduates are passionate about solving.”

It comes as a study by the World Economic Forum predicts that creativity will rise from the 10^th to the third most sought-after skill employers are seeking by 2020 and beyond.

As the official education partner of GREAT, DMU is showcasing the innovations of students and graduates in the fields of fashion, Architecture, Game Art and cyber security. Top UK figures speaking at the festival include chef Tom Kerridge, lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, former GCHQ director Robert Hannigan and Blippar CEO Ambarish Mitra.