Shaping our future in developing creativity in scientific research

Abstract

Worldwide, the money spent on research and the number of scientific publications have never been more important. However, the amount of money and the number of scientific papers are not necessarily good indicators of scientific creativity. In this presentation, we show that scientific education, research funding, and criteria for scientific publication and scientific recognition (i.e. impact factor) does not support creativity. Instead, they favor caution and conformity. To stimulate scientific creativity, it is essential to rethink science education from primary school to university. It is also necessary to change the criteria for funding and recognition of researchers. Scientific creativity must be a political priority for the next future. Several concrete proposals that could be easily implemented are discussed.