Mind the Gap: Creative Knowledge Processes Within Interdisciplinary Groups in Organizations and Higher Education

We live in a changing world and learning and creativity are significant processes. They are important both in organizations—where the need to be innovative and able to adjust to that ever-changing world persists—as well as in schools and higher education institutions, in order to prepare students for an unknown future. Furthermore, we are facing new social and global challenges that require advanced interdisciplinary solutions. This chapter first presents results on what characterizes the creative knowledge processes when specialized researchers in interdisciplinary groups learn from one another and work to develop innovative ideas in an organizational context. It then describes how these results can be transferred to another context, i.e. to student groups in higher education at the beginning of their educational careers. Some similarities between the two contexts are observed; for instance, both cases involve diversity and individuals with different perspectives, which stimulates the creative knowledge processes and can lead to more learning and new insights and knowledge for the employees and students. One condition for succeeding with learning and creativity is essential however—“minding the gap” and utilizing the differences constructively by ensuring psychological safety and trust within the groups.