Table 1 Creativity workshop plan. Identification and detailed description of the activities and its objectives in the Session 1 (Generation of new ideas) and Session 2 (Assessment and improvement of ideas) of the creativity workshop

Activities

Objectives

Description

Debate about the role of creativity in biomedical professions

To identify students’ previous ideas and concepts on this issue.

Through a real-time questionnaire, students determine their beliefs about creativity in biomedical professions and then reflect collaboratively.

Brainstorming (post-it®)

To produce many new ideas in a short time for their research project proposals.

Participants have two minutes to think on a problem. Each must write at least one idea on a post-it®. Each post-it® is stuck on the wall. The group discusses all the ideas, categorizing and prioritizing them according to their usefulness for resolving the problem.

Heuristics ideation

To generate new concepts, ideas, products, or solutions connecting different concepts.

Participants write two lists, one containing motivational concepts or issues in the science field and the other including ideas from the brainstorming. The group must associate concepts from the two lists and generate new ideas.

Role storming

To generate ideas from different viewpoints so the research proposal can be analyzed from different approaches.

Participants choose an admirable or despicable personage and imagine what this person would think about their project. Afterwards, they analyze and discuss the emerged ideas.

Six hats De Bono [25]

To encourage the analysis of the project from multiple perspectives.

Each participant has a hat that symbolizes a way of thinking: emotion, creativity, optimism, information, control, or logic. Participants must answer all the questions related to their specific hat and the main problem.

Activities

Objectives

Description

Strange object

To promote the use of analogies to change the reference framework where students look for solutions.

Participants write an analogy between a strange object from daily life and the project.

Ishikawa diagram [26]

To reorganize concepts and ideas linked to the project.

Concepts and ideas identified must be grouped into different categories connected to the problem or the project in a diagram.

SWOT

To analyze the project’s potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to find ideas to improve the project.

Participants reflect and complete the SWOT matrix.

SCAMPER [27]

To find new ideas to improve the product or the process developed during the project.

Participants must ask questions related to improving the project through Substituting, Combining, Adapting, Modifying, Putting to other purposes, Eliminating, and Replacing.

Logo design

To synthesize the main project idea and highlight its essence through symbolic language.

Participants must design a logo for their own project.