#19 Nicola Ulibarri | Creativity in Research

ResponsAbility - Dialogues on Practical Knowledge and Bildung in Professional Studies

In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we speak with Nicola Ulibarri, Associate Professor at UC Irvine and first author of Creativity in Research. Drawing on her experience at Stanford’s d.school, Nicola shares how creativity can be cultivated as a deliberate practice in academia through mindfulness, emotional intuition, structured exercises, and supportive collaboration. We explore themes from her book, including the thirty-day creativity program, storytelling, energy management, and psychological safety in teams — and reflect on how these themes can become sources of creativity and inspiration for the researcher.

00:00:55 - Personal and professional background for writing Creativity in Research

00:03:38 - Mindfulness as foundational for creativity in research

00:05:06 - Emotional intuition as a guide in research decisions

00:09:11 - How can the inclusion of mindfulness and emotional intuition in research processes be justified?

00:12:38 - On the thirty-day-program

00:15:02 - Transformations observed with researchers who did the thirty-day-program

00:17:48 - On the importance of storytelling and language in shaping researchers’ identity

00:19:19 - On the role of energy management in research processes

00:24:09 - On the importance of collaboration and feedback in order for creativity to flourish in research

00:28:13 - Surprises in the reception of the book

00:31:10 - Is a researcher also a kind of artist?

Literature:

• Ulibarri N, Cravens AE, Svetina Nabergoj A, Kernbach S, Royalty A. (2019): Creativity in Research: Cultivate Clarity, Be Innovative, and Make Progress in Your Research Journey. Cambridge University Press.