Connecting university research across culture,creativity,and business: The case of Aiku centre

Introduction

This case study explores the profile and work of the Aiku Centre at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, Italy. It exemplifies the approach and experimentations of a contemporary higher education institution committed to fulfill its “third mission” and address broader societal challenges. The formulation and dissemination of the ambitious 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2015 set the basis, at least theoretically, for a new global agenda for both policymakers and institutions. Given their social role, universities are increasingly challenged to take an active stance on contemporary social issues addressed by the SDGs (Wiek et al., 2011), (Jackson, 2017). They have attempted to incorporate these objectives coherently while fulfilling their three missions: education, research, and dissemination (Etzkowitz et al., 2000). This reflects explicitly on the recent trends to focus on the third mission: universities are abandoning their aura of inaccessible ivory towers (Tirrell, 2000) to become more accessible, impactful agents of change and accountable not only to their primary stakeholders but to communities and society at large (Trencher et al., 2013; Trencher et al., 2014). Universities' “third mission" transcends traditional teaching and research roles to encompass active engagement with the broader community, addressing societal challenges, and fostering innovation and knowledge transfer (Molas-Gallart et al., 2002). In this scenario, culture and artistic intervention play a key role in creating and disseminating a new sensibility and awareness towards sustainability issues.

The Aiku Center at Ca’ Foscari University

Founded in 2015 within the Department of Management at Ca’ Foscari University, the Aiku ¹ Center works at the crossroads of academic research and practices between Humanities and Social Sciences. The Aiku Center also plays a proactive role in promoting climate change awareness and sustainability

Aiku’s core objective is to effectively translate university research outcomes into practical applications in culture, creativity, and business, thus facilitating societal progress. This objective resonates with the broader goals of the “third mission,” which seeks to bridge the gap between academia and society by leveraging academic expertise to benefit the community (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 2000). Aiku’s commitment to involving artists and culture professionals underscores its mission to actively engage stakeholders from various fields, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and fostering innovation.In the last decade, Aiku has successfully pursued these objectives as a conduit for knowledge dissemination and application. The centre’s collaborative projects, research initiatives, and immersive learning opportunities have contributed to developing creative solutions with tangible societal impacts. These endeavours exemplify the university’s commitment to leveraging its intellectual capital for the greater good (Pinheiro et al., 2012).

The activities of the Aiku Center play a fundamental role in achieving the integration of SDGs in the three missions of the University:

1. Teaching: Including climate change and sustainability topics a variety of courses across disciplines such as science, arts, and business, to prepare students for creative problem-solving and understanding sustainability challenges (Jackson, 2017).

Aiku’s success in forging collaborations between the corporate and cultural domains, grounded in innovation, is a testament to its role as an intermediary institution, another hallmark of the “third mission” (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 1996). There is now substantial evidence of the positive contribution universities can make to helping firms’ innovation, extending its reach and impact beyond the university’s traditional boundaries, and facilitating the flow of knowledge, resources, and expertise between academia, industry, and the cultural sphere. This collaboration-driven approach exemplifies Ca’ Foscari University’s commitment to knowledge dissemination.

Artistic interventions as practices of dissemination

Climate change is one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. As the world grapples with the consequences of environmental degradation, culture has been indiscriminately adopted and promoted as a broad-spectrum cure for solving sustainability-related issues, regardless of the context, the implications on the communities and the real long-term impact.

Culture plays a crucial role in driving change, as it has the power to raise awareness and implement sustainable practices. Third mission activities are therefore concerned with generating, using, applying, and exploiting knowledge and other university capabilities beyond the academic environment. In other words, the third mission facilitates interaction between universities and the rest of society (Laredo, 2007). This interaction spans technology transfer, continuous education, and public engagement.

Artistic interventions, known for their capacity to engage emotions and connect individuals to complex issues like climate change, offer a powerful means of public engagement. Artistic approaches encourage unconventional thinking and problem-solving, essential for addressing challenges while leaving room for differences and avoiding the ‘one size fits all’ type of solutions.These interventions can stimulate innovative solutions to sustainability challenges when integrated into organisational practices. For instance, art-inspired workplace workshops or installations can prompt employees to think creatively about reducing their carbon footprint and developing eco-friendly products and services.

Art Thinking research practice

As part of the University’s third mission and engagement with the industry, Aiku explores the relationship between art, business, and CCI as a core mission. The importance of the relationship between art and management can be summarised in two main perspectives: the arts can serve as a learning platform (Darsø, 2004) or represent a tool or vector to influence the aesthetic and organisational dimensions (Schiuma 2011).

The relationship between art and business is evolving, becoming more complex than it may have appeared in the past. This relationship is characterised by a set of diversified activities that involve various actors. Today, cultural and creative production is considered the origin of contemporary value chains. However, due to a lack of understanding of its role and the consequent minor enhancement, the cultural sphere is relegated to a niche sector. It is considered unproductive, expensive, and too far from the managerial-corporate world to arouse interest.

To strengthen corporate creativity, traditional managerial forms of motivation or the mere interest of the company in the arts are insufficient. While there are already well-known forms of interrelation between art and business, such as patronage, philanthropy, or sponsorship, they all relate to supporting external artistic productions. Instead, an internal approach is necessary, starting and growing within the business context. This approach requires a more structured relationship that involves significant interaction between participants.

Aiku’s artistic interventions aim to study the interrelation and potential effects between investments in organisational creativity and subsequent improvements in innovation rates. Three projects are presented as exemplifications of the dynamics of university-industry collaborations and activities of dissemination implemented by the Aiku Center.

The SMATH initiative

The SMATH initiative resonates on the art, business and community intersection. Spearheaded by funding from the Veneto region, it represents a comprehensive international endeavour to foster enhanced connectivity between cultural and creative hubs. The overarching objective of this initiative is to leverage the synergies that naturally exist between the intrinsic values and symbolism embedded in artistic production and the corporate landscape, thereby fully capitalising on their economic potential.

SMATH seeks to catalyse a transformative process through tangible measures involving artists who simultaneously assume roles as employees and self-employed individuals, engaging in collaborative endeavors within industrial settings alongside other employees and entrepreneurs. The tangible outcomes of these collaborations echo the limitless potential of art in enhancing business operations and fostering innovation (Goal 8 and 9, of SDGs)

The Project in Practice: This project established six distinct art residencies within various companies, where the fusion of art and business nurtures innovative ideation within Italian firms. This pragmatic and dynamic approach reshapes the conventional perception of “creativity” within the corporate sphere. It places newfound emphasis on “collaboration” as its central guiding tenet, extending its impact well beyond mere monetary gain.

The project seamlessly harmonises with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice's ongoing 5-year research expedition, which delves into the intersection of Art and Business — an area replete with potential yet hitherto marked by limited practical applications (Cacciatore and Panozzo, 2021).

Over 20 companies have partnered with numerous artists since the project’s inception in 2018, sharing common interests and visions. This collaborative synergy has resulted in a dynamic creative ecosystem where artists and entrepreneurs jointly conceive novel services and products, inducing profound transformations within the intricate web of interactions between culture and business. The overarching structure of this extensive yet dynamic process encompasses initial encounters, workshops, and individual meetings between artists and entrepreneurs. This collaborative endeavour has yielded 40 opportunities for cooperation, out of which 13 have evolved into concrete project proposals. Ultimately, six winning projects were selected to commence their respective residency programs. These projects span various artistic mediums, including installations, videos, soundscapes, relational art, and data visualisation.

The initial response from companies to the SMATH initiative was multifaceted. Initially, artists were perceived as creators of traditional art objects that were typically presented and appreciated within established art institutions. However, it quickly became apparent that the presence of artists within the corporate environment served as a catalyst for creative and constructive questioning and innovation. This paradigm shifts transcended established norms, with artists and organisations collaborating to develop innovative creative, business development, idea generation, and skill enhancement processes. Italian managers are now embracing new approaches, out-of-the-box thinking, and strategies to navigate the rapid changes in the business landscape. In this context, art functions as a creative stimulus for businesses, augmenting productivity, and entrepreneurial skills among business agents, thus representing a strategic investment in innovation. The accounts of artists such as D20 Art Lab., Kensuke Koike, and Studio Tonnato, and their respective projects, underscore the profound impact of the SMATH initiative on Italy's business landscape. By redefining creativity within the corporate milieu, businesses adapt to the evolving market and contribute to Italy’s socio-cultural tapestry.

Sea Level Rise

Sea Level Rise has been promoted by the Aiku Center of Ca’ Foscari University as part of its public outreach strategies and academic third mission, amplifying the project's impact on academic and public fronts, explicitly targeting climate change (SDG, Goal 13 and 14). Climate unfolds as a series of site-specific interventions, encompassing urban installations, mural artworks, and dialogues to forge a symbiotic relationship between science and art. This fusion materialises in works informed by the latest scientific research on the genesis and repercussions of climatic transformations.

The artist Andreco introduces Venice Climate 04-Sea Level Rise, a multifaceted endeavor that bridges art and science, delving into the consequences of climate change and rising sea levels. Andreco’s overarching objective for this initiative is to highlight the vulnerabilities inherent in the regions where his interventions transpire. In Bari, the focal point revolved around the exacerbating desertification resulting from soaring temperatures, whereas Venice constitutes the epicentre of his inquiry into sea level rise. Climate 04-Sea Level Rise strategically selected Venice as its emblematic locus, given its susceptibility to this peril, as corroborated by the prevailing forecasts. This phase draws inspiration from international research endeavours spearheaded by organisations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Delta Committee, and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WGBU), alongside insights from the National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR) (Rahmstorf et al., 2012) concerning the ramifications of rising sea levels in the Venetian Lagoon.

The project encompasses three distinct interventions meticulously tailored for Venice:

1. A large-scale mural painting adorning the banks of the Grand Canal on Fondamenta Santa Lucia, encapsulates an artistic interpretation of studies of sea level rise and extreme wave occurrences, informed by empirical evidence and forecasts from research entities engaged in the initiative.

Conclusion

As the ground beneath us shifts rapidly and unpredictably, new approaches to social needs are emerging through art and collaboration among diverse actors, creating new social relationships and modes of cooperation. Universities are increasingly viewed as platforms for raising awareness, education, and advocacy on environmental issues amid the escalating urgency of the climate crisis. The Aiku Centre at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, Italy is a beacon of innovative collaboration between academia, the arts, and the business world.

Integrating artistic actions into traditional managerial activities facilitates dialogues between stakeholders and enriches them with new meanings and methods. These interventions can serve as potent tools for raising awareness about climate change and its consequences among a broader audience while considering the complexity of such experiments. The basis of the artistic logic of production is obtaining benefits such as strategic and technological innovation and learning to manage the complexity due to the meeting and integration of the art world within the business one, which is different and sometimes even opposite from the first. Through initiatives like SMATH and Climate 04-Sea Level Rise, AIKU bridges the gap between traditionally distinct realms, demonstrating how art can inspire creativity, innovation, and sustainability in the corporate sector, acting both as an accelerator of new sustainable practices and raising awareness on urgent societal challenges. By embracing the principles of the “third mission” and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, the Aiku Centre exemplifies the pivotal role universities can play in addressing societal challenges and advancing knowledge transfer.

Furthermore, Aiku’s dedication to sustainable development aligns seamlessly with the broader societal goals of higher education knowledge dissemination and awareness. The Aiku Centre’s commitment to sustainability and artistic interventions highlights the transformative potential of art in addressing critical issues and pressing environmental and social challenges such as climate change. Doing so enriches the academic landscape and contributes to society's broader well-being.