Vanderbilt University in association with edX is providing an online course on Leading Strategic Innovation in Organizations. In this online course, students will learn to enhance their ability so that they can manage their creativity, innovation and changes in business education, healthcare, government and in any other complex organization or institution.
In this course students are required to diagnose potential innovation failures before they occur. Students will be using a frame work for “innovation constraints” that will be based on the modern social science research and on insights from business practice and will learn how to deal with people when the goal is innovation.
This course will let you answer questions like:
- What are the conditions for successful innovation?
- What causes innovation to fail?
- What makes creative people creative?
- How should I manage an innovative team?
- How do I lead an effective brainstorm process?
- What is an innovation portfolio and how can I manage one?
- Why do so many great ideas get killed?
While learning students are required to treat innovation as the process of generating, assessing, and then implementing useful and valuable ideas. It is easier to generate ideas but getting those ideas listened to, accepted, and implemented in organizations is a tough task.
Through this course students will also learn to lead peoples and teams and will focus on improving their own creativity. This course will let students employ themselves in several activities and exercises that are designed to bring current habits of thought and behavior to the surface for examination and change.
Course Begins
This course will begin on July 1, 2014.
Duration of the Course
The duration of this course is 9 weeks and this course will end on September 2, 2014. Students are required to contribute 6 to 8 hours per week. This course will be taught in English followed by English subtitles.
Course Field
This course will teach you about Leading Strategic Innovation in Organizations.
Course Syllabus
Week 1: Introduction: Why Everyone Wants Innovation but No One Wants to Change
Week 2: Individual Constraints: Why Most of Us Are More Creative Than We Think
Week 3: Group Constraints: Why a Brainstorm Meeting Can Be Worse Than No Meeting at All
Week 4: Organizational Constraints: Why You'll Never Be a Prophet in Your Own Hometown
Week 5: Industry Constraints: If It's Such a Great Idea, Why Isn't Our Competitor Doing It?
Week 6: Societal Constraints: Why My Innovation Means You Have to Change
Week 7: Technological Constraints: How to Take a Really Hard Problem and Make It Completely Impossible
Week 8: When Failure Is Not an Option: Leading an Innovation Strategy
Course Format
Weekly video lectures will be there along with embedded quizzes, short exercises, readings, several diagnostic surveys and a brief weekly reflection paper. Two different levels of engagements are also offered through this course:
-”Standard Track”- – Estimated Time Commitment: 4 – 6 Hours Per Week
-“Studio Mastery Track” – Estimated Time Commitment: 6 – 10 Hours Per Week
Eligibility
Students those who have some work experience in any organization can apply for this course.
About the Instructor
David A. Owens
He is Professor of the Practice of Management and Innovation at Vanderbilt's Graduate School of Management, where he also directs the Executive Development Institute.
Follow this link for more information.