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Renzulli Learning Presents Creativity Assessment Research at International Conference in North Macedonia
On October 2, 2026, Şükrü Murad Cebeci, developer of the Cebeci Test of Creativity (CTC), spoke on measuring creativity at a scientific conference at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. The conference presented a university research project on humane communication among young people, funded by North Macedonia's Ministry of Education and Science.
Murad Cebeci presented The Power of Creativity: From Understanding to Measuring Creativity at an international scientific conference hosted by the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. The conference shared a Ministry-funded research project on how young people communicate, and brought together researchers from North Macedonia, Slovakia, and Portugal.
A Gathering on How Young People Communicate
The conference, "Humane Communication Among Youth: Aspects, Factors, and Creative Ways of Fostering It," took place in the Ceremonial Hall of the Rectorate at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. It was hosted by the university's Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research and brought together researchers, university professors, and practitioners from North Macedonia and abroad.
Institute director Prof. Dr. Petar Atanasov opened the program. Greetings followed from University Rector Prof. Dr. Biljana Angelova; Elena Ivanovska, State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science; Prof. Dr. Eleonora Serafimovska, head of the research project; and Tatjana Aleksova-Slavkovska, who coordinates the primary school psychologists taking part in the project. In the University's own report on the conference, the Rector stressed that young people need not only knowledge but trust, and the chance to ask questions, explore, create, and be heard. The research team then presented preliminary results, followed by an international panel.
From Understanding Creativity to Measuring It
Cebeci spoke on the afternoon panel, moderated by Prof. Dr. Marijana Markovikj, with a talk titled "The Power of Creativity: From Understanding to Measuring Creativity." The education news site UMNO.mk, which covered the conference, described the talk as tracing the path from understanding creativity to measuring it. He shared the panel with Prof. Dr. Michal Čerešník of Pan-European University in Bratislava, Prof. Dr. Kiril Barbareev and Assist. Prof. Dr. Emilija Boshkovska of Goce Delchev University in Shtip, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seran Demiral of the University of Porto.
Measuring creativity is the work the Cebeci Test of Creativity was built for. The CTC is a computer-scored, fully figural test: students work with shapes and drawings rather than words, so it is nonverbal and language-independent, a useful property for research across languages and cultures. It reports fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration as percentiles against grade-level norms. Its development and validation are documented in the Journal of Creative Behavior (Cebeci & Acar, 2025), and it is covered by US Patent 12,087,176.
Ministry-Funded Research on Young People
The conference shared work from the institute's research project of the same name, led by Prof. Dr. Eleonora Serafimovska. According to the project page, it studies empathetic, socially responsible, and creative communication among young people ages 11 to 14, and involves them in the research itself, from designing instruments to analyzing data. It was one of 15 social sciences and humanities projects funded through the Ministry of Education and Science's 2025 call for research at state universities and institutes.
Preliminary results, reported by Nezavisen, draw on a study of 657 students in grades 6 to 9, along with workshops for students, training for school psychologists, and focus groups with parents and teachers. The researchers recommend weaving humane communication into lessons across existing subjects rather than adding a new one.
Speaking at the conference, State Secretary Ivanovska said the project was one of 50 the Ministry supported last year, according to Kanal 5. She called for closer ties between science and the education system, adding that research proves its value when its findings lead to approaches schools can put into practice. The Ministry also published its own announcement of the project results.
The Research Ahead
The project is still under way. According to Nezavisen, the team plans to extend its study beyond the Skopje-area municipalities where most of its data was gathered, and to produce a handbook of workshops for schools. Its researchers have also developed an instrument they report can measure humane communication among young people.
Creativity is part of that picture: the project's own definition of humane communication includes creative communication alongside empathy and social responsibility. The institute's researchers first contacted Renzulli Learning in October 2025 about using the CTC in their research with children and exploring Macedonian norms for the test. Those conversations are continuing, and Renzulli Learning and the research team are exploring further academic collaboration.
The Skopje presentation also continues the CTC's presence in international research settings. In October 2025, Cebeci presented the test at the 24th International and Brazilian Congress of Neuropsychology.
University and Media Resources
Official pages from the university, the institute, and the Ministry, along with news coverage of the conference. All are in Macedonian.
Research Project Page
Goals, research team, and funding for the project studying how young people ages 11 to 14 communicate.
Visit page →Conference Page
The institute's page for the October 2 conference, listing the research team's presentations and the panel.
Visit page →University News
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University's report on the conference, including the Rector's message to young people.
Read article →Ministry Announcement
The Ministry of Education and Science's press release on the presentation of the project's results.
Read release →UMNO.mk
Education news coverage of the conference that names Murad Cebeci and his presentation on creativity.
Read article →Nezavisen
Coverage of the preliminary findings on humane communication, mental health, and preventing peer violence.
Read article →The Skopje Conference: Common Questions
On October 2, 2026, the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje hosted the scientific conference "Humane Communication Among Youth: Aspects, Factors, and Creative Ways of Fostering It." Şükrü Murad Cebeci presented for Renzulli Learning.
His talk, "The Power of Creativity: From Understanding to Measuring Creativity," traced the path from understanding creativity to measuring it. Cebeci is the developer of the Cebeci Test of Creativity (CTC).
The CTC is a computer-scored, fully figural creativity test. Because it is nonverbal and language-independent, it can be used across languages and cultures. It reports fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration as percentiles against grade-level norms. Its development and validation are documented in the Journal of Creative Behavior (Cebeci & Acar, 2025), and it is covered by US Patent 12,087,176.
The research project "Humane Communication Among Young People" is funded by North Macedonia's Ministry of Education and Science through its 2025 call for scientific research projects at state universities and research institutes. It is carried out by the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.
The Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research publishes the conference page and the research project page on its website. Ss. Cyril and Methodius University and the Ministry of Education and Science also published news about the conference, as did UMNO.mk, Nezavisen, and Kanal 5. Links to each appear in the University and Media Resources section of this article.
Sources
Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje: Conference Programme, October 2, 2026; conference page; research project page; project information (PDF).
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, "Humane Communication Among Young People: An Important Topic for Contemporary Society," October 4, 2026 (Macedonian): ukim.edu.mk.
Ministry of Education and Science of North Macedonia, press release on the presentation of the ISPPI project results (Macedonian): mon.gov.mk.
UMNO.mk, "Researchers, university professors, experts debated at scientific conference on humane communication among youth," October 3, 2026 (Macedonian): umno.mk.
Nezavisen, "ISPPI research: Humane communication is the most important concept for mental health and preventing peer violence," October 2, 2026 (Macedonian): nezavisen.mk.
Kanal 5, "MON: Results of the ISPPI project presented," October 2, 2026 (Macedonian): kanal5.com.mk.
Cebeci, S. M., & Acar, S. (2025). Development and validation of the Cebeci Test of Creativity: A computerized test of figural creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 59, e70030.
Macedonian titles are translated by Renzulli Learning.