The Masters in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership (MICL) is a multi-disciplinary programme that equips the student with skills in leadership, creativity, and innovation. The programme covers practical aspects of design processes, leading people and aspects of intellectual property law; it also challenges the usual boundaries of business learning and mindsets with modules in creative writing, creative industries and exploring the benefits of arts and psychological-based approaches to innovation and creativity.

The artefact assignment invites the students to create and display an artful object that reflects their master’s experience. The student selects their theme and uses their own choice of artist medium or media. The student then draws on concepts, techniques and insights to convey what they have learned through their engagement with this module and other programme content. It invites our students to be creative, innovative and expressive.

The artefacts are displayed and marked in a physical show at Bayes Business School during the last week of term two.

Artefacts from 2023

Faeza Afzal

My career has always been in the Education sector in various sales roles. During my time in Canada, I worked with universities and colleges to support their online marketing and recruitment efforts via digital platforms and websites.

I came across the MSc Innovation, Creativity and Leadership in my research for masters’ programmes two years ago.

I was attracted to the multidisciplinary approach and relished the idea of being able to study various disciplines. I have a very logical brain and mind, but with a creative heart given my interests in film, literature, art, and music. The MICL offered a programme that mirrored my personality and allowed me to study diversely with different methods and academic approaches.

We were tasked to create an artefact that represented our MICL experience. For my artefact, I made several ceramic shoes which were placed on a map of my MICL journey.

I have been making ceramic shoes for the last five years. It originally started as a way to create unique gifts for my friends’ 30th birthdays. I just found it to be a really therapeutic and interesting creative outlet. I have a natural fascination with different types of shoes and I thought it would be cool to create different ones to represent my various friends.

I took this concept and applied it to my Bayes experience around the premise of stepping into the MICL and finding which shoe fits. This is centred on an idea that the MICL caused me to stretch my boundaries, explore new possibilities, and enhance existing skills. There are six different shoes indicating this range starting from a baby shoe to a school shoe, teenage sneaker to adolescent slipper, followed by an adult heel and finishing with a secure sandal. Each shoe is named after various modules and milestones that I experienced during the MICL. They are arranged on the map corresponding to the modules and my comfort level during the learning experience.

The MICL is true to its name of being interdisciplinary and giving you an arsenal of tools and different perspectives. It teaches you how different disciplines can intersect to enhance your understanding, learning, and abilities.

I've learned along the way that leadership is not just about management and different styles. It's also about cultivating environments where creativity can flourish and help foster innovation, thus allowing you to be an effective leader of diverse teams.

Emma Primastiwi

I have always loved reading and telling stories, so storytelling is a big part of me and in many ways it has translated into my professional life. Whether it be putting together a birthday dinner in the early days of my career to writing full-length think pieces, I love a good story.

I was at a point in my life and career where I wanted to expand my horizons and learn how to be, in all sense of the word, a person. How to innovate a company, as well as myself, how to make creative decisions for work but also thrive creatively in my personal life, and be a better leader to myself and others I may lead in future career paths.

The MICL is the perfect place for someone who wants to explore what it is they want and can do because it really pushes your boundaries.

I originally toyed with a few different types of artefacts, seeing as our alumnus have such great examples, it’s hard to keep up!

I have a niece who recently learned how to read and that inspired me, why don’t I make a storybook for future MICLers?

As adults, it’s hard to take life lightly. There are so many chaotic things happening in the world and I really wanted to remind others that it’s alright to put on your rose-tinted glasses every once in a while, and process life from a simpler perspective. I also wanted to speak to our inner child to remind ourselves that it’s okay to be lost and to explore because that was very much my MICL journey. I took a leap of faith to come here and leave my family behind to embark on this new adventure. One thing we learned in the MICL is to respect and appreciate the process, and my artefact (I hope) embodied that.