Creativity, Problem Solving and Design Thinking

In this course, you’ll explore cognitive abilities and biases, learning how creative processes and tools exploit these abilities while mitigating the biases. You’ll apply visual thinking, systems thinking and design thinking to analyse and communicate complex situations, before practising problem identification, framing and ideation. You’ll learn to manage ideation sessions, develop selected ideas for implementation and refine your own pitching skills. By the end of week six, you’ll produce a portfolio and final report that showcase your creative project and the skills and confidence you’ve gained.

• Module 1: Creative cognition
• Module 2: General approaches
• Module 3: Problem definition
• Module 4: Idea generation
• Module 5: Solution development
• Module 6: Creative context

By the end of the course, you will have a broad understanding of the application of creative approaches, processes and tools, including how to:

• articulate the components of creative work and the skills (and biases) that are involved
• apply creative processes and tools yourself
• manage the application of creative processes and tools by others
• develop confidence in your creative skills and in your ability to improve those skills
• represent your own creative skills and experiences, and elicit those of others.

On successful completion of the course, you’ll receive a certificate from the University of Cambridge, along with valuable Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points and a digital badge to display on your LinkedIn profile. These Cambridge credentials not only showcase your knowledge and expertise but also demonstrate your commitment to professional development – helping future-proof your career.

This course is designed for professionals who want to enhance their creative thinking and problem solving skills. It’s perfect for those in business development, strategy or transformation roles looking for structured, innovative approaches to tackling complex challenges.

Whether you’re a senior leader, manager or analyst, this course will help you break free from conventional thinking, develop fresh solutions and pitch your ideas to stakeholders with confidence.

Our flexible, online courses – delivered via a world-leading learning platform – reflect the University of Cambridge experience and values, with low learner-to-tutor ratios and academically rigorous standards.

Our online learning model is designed to help you advance your skills and specialise in emerging areas that address real-world challenges. We will help you build your network through an engaging and impactful learning journey that encourages collaboration with academics and fellow learners.

Courses are delivered in weekly modules, allowing you to plan your time effectively around existing commitments. There is an optional weekly live session, which is recorded for anyone who can’t attend. The assessment criteria will be presented to you at the start of the course, so you can approach your studies with confidence and motivation, knowing exactly what’s expected of you and how to meet those expectations.

Throughout your online learning experience with Cambridge Advance Online, you’ll have digital access to a dedicated course tutor, an expert in the field, who will help steer your learning and provide you with support and guidance every step of the way.

Level of English

• You’ll need a good level of spoken and written English to make the most of the course (we recommend English language proficiency equivalent to an IELTS score of 7).

Materials and equipment

• No specialist software or IT equipment required.
• Sufficient internet speed (2 Mbps up/down) for video streaming.
• See recommended browsers (opens in a new tab).

Access to Virtual Learning Environment
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You can ask for support from your employer to fund this learning as part of your professional development.

Our Employer Funding guide has practical tips and templates to help you feel more confident asking for funding.

If your employer is funding your course or programme, we have several payment options available, including bank transfer (BACs), credit or debit card, and PayPal.

You can request a quote or an invoice for your organisation via our online course booking form, which will include a payment date and next steps for completing your payment.