Course title

Innovative project 1 - Product or services ideation and planning

Lecture type

Obligatory

Course code

23-06-507

Semester

1

ECTS

8

Lecturers and associates

• Tomislav Bronzin, Senior Lecturer
• Brigita Prole

Course overview

This is a series of three interconnected modules (Innovative Project 1-2-3)

Technological innovation is increasingly the source of sustainable competitive advantage for firms around the world, just as it is proving to be one of the key tools for successfully confronting some of the defining societal challenges of our time (e.g. climate crisis). New solutions, powered by digital technology, are one of the few tools available to companies to achieve truly breakthrough growth. How these solutions are developed is undergoing the biggest fundamental transformation since the industrial revolution. The innovation mindset empowered by digital technologies is becoming more and more a requisite to improve society and drive business value. Innovation capacity can be increased with training, and the fundamentals can motivate individuals to pursue their business interests and/or add value to existing business organizations. How to introduce technological innovations is a daunting challenge. One needs to become aware of modern tools, techniques and methods for development of technological innovations. This is why we have divided this content into three courses that will build on each other through three semesters: Innovative Project 1, Innovative Project 2 and Innovative Project 3. As they progress, we will examine different aspects of new tech solutions: exploring, executing and leveraging innovation. We will study frameworks, strategies and barriers for the introduction of new innovative tech solutions. We will move between strategic issues (what should you do?) and implementation issues (how should you get it done?), in order to illustrate that it is particularly dangerous to separate strategy from implementation (the “why” from the “how”) when innovation is the issue, because having a great idea is worth little or nothing if you cannot figure out how to commercialize or monetize that idea.

Throughout this journey, students will demonstrate their ability to work individually, as well as to co-ordinate cross-disciplinary teams to achieve a common objective. Courses combine lectures, case analyses, visiting experts and student research. Students will develop skills necessary to evaluate, articulate, develop and introduce new tech products or services. They will also leverage past experience and specific knowledge from other courses through practice and reflection in an action-oriented setting.

These three courses prepare students for a future career, either as team leaders, entrepreneurs or within already established companies. They give students practical insights into those business aspects that are particularly important during early innovation development phases, and to make them more effective in managing and growing the innovation. They also provide the cornerstone for successfully launching and implementing innovative projects within already established organizations.

Literature

Mandatory:
1) Crawford, C. M. and Di Benedetto, C. A. (2014): New Products Management, Eleventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.

Additional reading

Recommended:
1) Urban, G. L.; J. R. Hauser and N Dholakia (1998): Essentials of New Product Management, First Edition. Prentice Hall (Chapters 6-7)
2) Cooper, R. G. (2001): Winning at New Products: Accelerating the Process from Idea to Launch. Third Edition. Basic Books
3) Thill, John: Excellence In Business Communication (6th Edition), Courtland L. Bovee, Publisher: Prentice Hall
4) Covey, Stephen R: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Publisher: Free Press