IFEHE National Creativity Aptitude Test

Research on ‘executive success’ indicates that problem solving skills is perhaps the single most important factor in the success of individuals and organizations. The willingness and ability to work hard is a necessary condition for success, it is however not a sufficient one. An organization can perform reasonably well doing things the way the best organizations do, however this can propel the organization to, at best, a number two position. The leadership position shall belong to organizations that do better than themselves. That is what makes an IBM, Intel, Motorola, Google……..

Clearly, a good technician can apply the known, well established rules and processes to a situation. It is the hallmark of a genius who can find better solutions to existing problems, or in the words of Kenichi Ohmae, develop the ‘Art of Strategic Thinking’. An excellent strategy has an element of novelty, surprise and speed. This calls for creative thinking.

Most good education creates conformists. We test the students on our lectures. They learn to procrastinate, cram at the last moment and get good grades. (Stephen Covey) They tend to believe that these quick-fix, short-cut methods are a recipe for success in life. Clearly life does not work this way. To perform well, one has to be consistent and do the tasks when they need to be done. Also, you can do reasonably well by what everybody else can do. Excellence however will come from doing the task better than the others through unique and innovative approaches.

That creativity can be enhanced is well supported by research. However, it is a skill and skills are learnt by drill. We believe that once the creative ideas are allowed to flow, the students will find their own sources and applications and practice on their own.

Why National Creativity Aptitude Test

The NCAT is designed to sensitize the students to the domain of creative thinking and motivate them to read, learn and practice the same. We also wish to establish that there is no known correlation between memory, logical abilities, linguistic talent and creativity. NCAT may throw up a set of students who don’t seem to be the front-runners in the curricular subjects as creative geniuses and motivate them to sharpen their talent. We invite you to participate in this test.

This Olympiad is designed to assess a child’s creative abilities and his/her achievement motivation. We believe that this Olympiad will unearth hidden talents and encourage children who may have felt discouraged, to participate in the learning process more willingly and meaningfully with a renewed sense of self-belief and self-confidence. This assessment would naturally lead to the child’s inclination to improve upon the same and search for resources in that direction. Given an appropriate environment this will lead to enhanced creativity and achievement motivation.

The Outcome

The NCAT will assess the creativity quotient of a student and his/her level of achievement motivation. By participating in this Test, the student shall get sensitized to the importance of these factors and their role in shaping one’s future. Once so oriented, the student shall seek out resources to develop creative thinking and enhance achievement motivation. Edward De Beno and David Mc Clleland have conclusively proved that both creativity and achievement motivation can be significantly enhanced by appropriate interventions. The starting point clearly is an assessment. The primary objectives of this test are – one, to sensitize the student and two, to appeal to his /her competitive spirit to make him/her an achiever.