Creativity Challenge: The James Bond Casino Caper

Students and entrepreneurs came together Tuesday night to save the world from a deadly asteroid strike. That, at least, was the premise of the tongue-in-cheek event run by Alistair Fee who teaches creative thinking at the Queens University Belfast.

The exclusive event admitted only 30 participants after screening their applications for humor, creativity, and level of interest. Alistair explained the application process “Is a way to bring in only people who really want to participate. When they have applied and dressed up, they come already humming.”

The Setting

Clips and stills from James Bond movies played on the large screens in the School of Design where the event was held. Guests came dressed as their favorite Bond hero or villain. In practice, this meant tuxedos and suits for the men, evening dresses for the ladies.

The mood was lighthearted and convivial. Halfway through the event the guests were asked to fill balloons and send them flying throughout the room.

Participants drank and networked before engaging in the main event. Dividing into fives, they were briefed on doom’s approach and tasked with averting or mitigating the catastrophe.

The Challenge

Forrest Glick interrupted the chatter to inform guests that a meteor had been recently spotted hurtling towards earth. Greenland was its most likely target, threatening rising sea levels, earthquakes and permanent environmental disruption.

Split into teams, the guests collaborated on white boards, brainstorming ideas and debating outcomes.

The solutions proposed ranged from nuclear strikes to miniaturized black holes to melting Greenland to soften the impact.

Throughout the evening Alistair could be seen moving from table to table, offering encouragement and advice. He insisted that guests not focus exclusively on the engineering problems but take into account politics and implementation.

The Point

“In the course of your business or life you will come across situations where you have to make a decision in a short period of time. You will have to collaborate with people you don’t know who know a great deal about something,” explained Alistair after the event.

With the world safe again, participants were eager to talk and take pictures before being unfortunately hustled out of the building by organizers.

Along with Alistair and Forrest Glick the event was organized by Belen Torres-Gill and Tina Seelig.