Abstract:

We live in a time where knowledge, information and skills have become the driving force behind the development of the city, region and state. Universities have gained an important role in their acquisition, dissemination, and improvement. Studies in this area attribute to universities a strong local multiplier effect, which mainly affects employment and the development of local human resources.

The primary goal of the paper is to analyse the activities of creative cities in relation to the university's influence on the development of the city and region in which the university is located and use this knowledge to identify local economic influences of the university in relation to the creative economy and to design a university strategy in the outdoor and indoor environment.

The primary sources for processing were mainly professional publications in the field of creative economics. In the analysis of the current state, data obtained from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic were processed, which were supplemented by the results of primary research. A binomial test will be applied to verify statistical hypotheses. The research problem was defined as follows: Identification of the extent of the university's influence on students' creative thinking. Based on the determination of the research problem, 6 research goals were set and subsequently 6 hypotheses were formulated. After the preparatory phase, an indicative analysis was carried out in order to identify what resources are available to solve the research problem. In the indicative analysis, mainly secondary sources were used, but based on the information obtained, it was not possible to solve the research problem. For this reason, a marketing research plan was developed.

The results of the research showed approximately the same level of perception of subjects, which are focused on the use of creativity techniques, creative thinking and creative entrepreneurship in individual faculties, it would be appropriate to conduct internal benchmarking at UNIZA level aimed at adopting "best practices" in the field.

The identification of the influence of teachers in the application of creative procedures and techniques in the educational process also pointed only minor differences at the level of individual university workplaces, it is possible to recommend internal benchmarking based on closer identification of individuals - teachers who apply creative procedures and techniques in the educational process.

Keywords:

Creativity, university, local multiplier effects, local economic influences, creative economy, university strategy, creative thinking of students.