How do we think creatively and innovatively, and apply it to our work?
All too often, we teach students to be facile with technology and with business, but we don't really teach them how to "think different."
This course explores the fundamentals of creative thinking and the development and application of innovative solutions to problems, as well as how innovative ideas create opportunities in a competitive marketplace.
The course focuses on:
- self-assessments of how each of us view innovation, and what our role in the innovation process is;
- the innovation "skill set" that everyone needs;
- how we think and make decisions, and how we can be more creative at both;
- innovation leadership, applied to the self, others, and the team;
- culture and innovation, and how to realize and use different backgrounds and approaches;
- communicating innovation: getting others "on board;"
- the metrics of innovation: just because it's innovative doesn't mean that it's good.
Course Outcomes:
- Students will understand the difference between innovation and mere improvement;
- Students will understand how to think creatively, with tools and techniques that they will be able to apply throughout their careers;
- Students will be introduced to how the innovation process is viewed differently from culture to culture;
- Students will learn to apply "everyday innovation" as a way of looking at things ontologically.
The most recent course syllabus is below.