Since Andries Fourie developed his first memories, he had an interest in how the human brain operates and how that influences human behaviour. After starting a career in the Banking Industry in 1992, he became a part-time student and qualified himself in a myriad of disciplines, including Psychology, Education, Business Strategy and Philosophy. Evidently, this is a life-time journey which he enjoys thoroughly. But it was when he became an Instructional Designer (Developing Educational Media and Learnign Interventions), that Andries discovered his passion: Learning, Knoweldge, Creativity and Innovation and how these interact.

Andries has been operating as a freelance consultant since 2007, running workshops in creative thinking and problem solving, and also facilitates problem solving and strategy workshops… many of these for Churches who experience the need for radical new thinking in a changing society. In addition to the freelance consultancy, he lectures on a contract basis at the Vaal University of Technology in the following subjects: Entrepreneurship, Business Information Systems, Research Methodology, Business Strategy and Quantitative Techniques.

Andries' goals for this year is to submit his proposal for his PhD, and to officially open a Bar/Club Combination that would take the human experience of entertainment to a whole new level, entising all the senses and integrating body, mind and soul in the process.

My personal thoughts on innovation and creativity

• First and foremost that both are skills that can be learnt and developed.
• Secondly, that they are essential skills for the survival of any business in a fast changing environment.
• Thirdly, it requires a multi-disciplinary mind-set, which is a challenge for the current educational systems, both School and Higher Educational Institutions.
• Lastly, you can be creative without being innovative, but you cannot be innovative without being creative.