"In the uncomfort zone": A Faculty Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Chrissi Nerantzi

We are delighted to announce that the second lecture in the 2025-26 Faculty of Social Sciences Inaugural Lecture Series will be given by Professor Chrissi Nerantzi (School of Education).

Chrissi Nerantzi (NTF, CATE, PFHEA) is Professor of Creative and Open Education in the School of Education and Senior Lead of the Knowledge Equity Network at the University of Leeds, UK. She is co-chair of the ICDE Open Education Network and founder of the international, award-winning Creativity for Learning (#creativeHE) community. Chrissi is also a global accreditor for Advance HE and an international member of the Open Education Advisory Group of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the Higher Education Authority in Ireland. She is a GO-GN alumna and an internationally recognised scholar in creative and open education, with a career spanning roles as teacher, programmer, translator, academic developer, and education innovator.

The Lecture

Title: In the uncomfort zone

Abstract

Join us for this inaugural adventure lecture as we explore what it means to be in the uncomfort zone and what this space can unlock for educators and students in higher education.

Using the device of a personal creativity manifesto (Nerantzi, 2019), I will share journeys of love, learning and life. Together, we will consider how imagination, inventiveness and inspiration can help us make sense of our experiences and shape our practices. These elements can become a driving force for connection, co-creation and co-learning that enriches our lives and brings meaning to our work.

The talk draws on ideas from Craft (2008), Craft et al. (2008), Jackson (1996), and hooks (1994), among others, to explore how creativity can flourish within constraints. It also considers how educators are motivated to innovate through curiosity and a desire to create stimulating, open and collaborative learning experiences (Nerantzi and Thomas, 2019; Atenas et al., 2025). Vulnerability and trust are central to this, as they help build the foundations for meaningful relationships and learning communities (Brantmeier, 2013; Armellini et al., 2021).

We will reflect on how we might move beyond the need for certainty and control, and instead embrace uncertainty and discomfort as conditions for learning “at the edge of chaos” (Kleiman, 2011, 62.7). The arrival of AI brings new challenges and opportunities. There is potential for open education and public AI to amplify and diversify learning (UNESCO, 2024), and for creativity to emerge as a shared space between human and machine (Celis Bueno et al., 2025; Mateson, 2025).

In preparation, please read the creativity manifesto below and create your own mini version. You are invited to reuse, remove or remix elements from mine. Bring a short version with you (a line or two is enough) to share with others. This will be part of a collective moment of connection during and after the lecture.

A creativity manifesto: Living in the uncomfort zone (Nerantzi, 2019)

Curiosity to explore.
To experiment.
To play.
Searching for questions and answers.
More questions.
Questions move us,
move us into new/alternative directions.

Ideas are born through questioning,
through imagining things,
through novel connections.
Linked to desires, a need, a mission,
an opportunity,
a challenge AND adversity.
They signal hope.
They push boundaries.
They (can) rattle normality, tradition, conformity.

Resourcefulness is the oxygen of life.
Without imagination and creativity it doesn’t mean anything.
To make things happen for the better,
with nothing, very little, or everything we have.
For us (and for others).

And there is joy. The joy of life and being alive.
Sun. Sea. Mountains.
Blueberries. Tomatoes. Watermelon.
Rain. Snow.
Sight. Smell. Taste. Sound. Touch.
Adventures. Art.
Friends. Family. People.
Warmth. Love. Care.
Disappointment.
Rejection.
Loneliness.
Emotions in abundance.
Highs AND lows.
All four seasons in a moment or two.

Create and live in your uncomfort zone (for a little while or a bit longer).
Be comfortable there.
Challenge and be challenged.
Stretch. Risk. Fail. Pick yourself up again. And again.
It is a rollercoaster. Not on a fixed track.
Surprises are just around the corner.
Go for it! Make things happen. Transform.

Creativity doesn’t mean being loud or visible or artistic.
We can be bold in a quiet way.
Whatever we do.
With our thinking, ideas and actions.

Immerse into (im)possibilities
Make surprising discoveries
about ourselves,
others
and the world we live in.

We would like to welcome everyone – be they colleagues, postgraduate researchers, students, alumni or visitors – to this lecture celebrating the achievement and scholarship contributions of Professor Nerantzi.

The lecture will take place on Thursday 6 November 2025 at 17:00 in the Sir William Henry Bragg Building, LT (2.37) at the University of Leeds. The lecture will take place from 17:00-18:00 including introductions and a Q&A session, after which there will be a drinks reception. Registration is free of charge through TicketTailor.

If you have any queries about this lecture, or about the series, please direct them via email to Izzy Jenkinson (Faculty Events and Communications Officer) at I.K.S.Jenkinson@leeds.ac.uk.