15 Years of KI: Interview Project

Mary Stewart, Author

With the support Dr. Mary Blatherwick, I was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2019 for a four-month, two-trip visit to University of New Brunswick as an international scholar. This fellowship is designed to benefit the host institution and the visitor equally. I began by giving a presentation at an Atlantic Centre for Creativity conference, helped to update the organization's website, and then worked with ACC members to launch a professional publication titled Creativity Matters. Following the visit, I completed my book titled Creative Inquiry: From Ideation to Implementation, which was published by SUNY Press in 2021.

My second visit to New Brunswick was repeatedly delayed due to Covid-19. By working virtually, I had completed all of the projects initially proposed, so was delighted to receive an invitation to spend the remaining two months of the fellowship at University of Waterloo.

The Interview Project

At the request of Dr. Rob Gorbet (KI Chair at the time), I began interviewing professors, students and alumni in the Department of Knowledge Integration. This was a great way for me to gain insight into this remarkable program and the resulting texts could be used to get the word out about the distinctive transdisciplinary curriculum used. 

The interviews were done collaboratively. I sent several "start-up" questions to interviewees in advance, so that they could think about the ideas they wanted to share. A freewheeling conversation followed, generally lasting around ninety minutes. Rather than simply creating a word-by-word transcription, I distilled (and when appropriate, re-organized) the conversation to create a compelling story. Having published over forty interviews in my various books, I had learned that general audience interviews need to be carefully constructed and very concise--otherwise, the readership drops dramatically. I then sent the draft to my subjects and invited them to edit, add or revise as needed.

In Gratitude

I would like to thank all of the people I interviewed: they are truly remarkable. And I would especially like to thank Dr. Gorbet for hosting my visit, Administrative Assistant Kim Boucher for solving many logistical problems, Dr. Katie Plaisance for inviting me to sit in on her classes and Dr. Mathieu Feagan for inviting me to work with him on his Creative Thinking course.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone at Fulbright Canada for their fortitude and flexibility. Working especially with Brad Hector in Ottawa, I re-organized my travel at least five times from 2021-2022, as we tried the find the best way to finish a fellowship that had been so interrupted. Without his help, I could never have completed this project.

In a world so beset by conflict and divisive politics, Canada remains a beacon of hope and a leader in innovation and creativity. Thank you so much!