Course description
The objective is to give a basic background to all students, without any prerequisite, on the dynamics of innovation. It will give an overview of the changing role of innovation in economics and society with an historical perspective (from long-term stable society to the permanent regime of innovation) and introduce the key determinants and issues of the process of innovation. It will also introduce to the development of competencies to innovate within the framework of Design Thinking and Creativity.
Learning outcomes of the course
The course is supposed to open students' minds to the societal issues of innovation within a broader way and to experiment the interest of cooperative relationships to develop creativity through teamwork.
Syllabus
After introduction, the course will be organized in 3 parts.
The first one will present economic innovations (new product or new process), which is usually the main topic of the innovation analysis..
Main topics:
The second part will go deeper on the dynamics of innovation at different levels.
Main topics:
The third part will develop three specific aspects of the dynamics of innovation focusing on geographical, environmental and societal issues.
Main topics:
Teaching and evaluation methods
The teaching methods will rely on active implications of students and interactions, inspired by the methodology of flipped classroom.
The course will be organised in different ways:
Evaluation of students will be based on their regular participation and involvement (30%), group creative project (30%) and a short essay (paper, video, slide show) to be prepared at home on a specific topic to be selected jointly with the student (40%).
Bibliography
Swann, G. M. P., The economics of innovation: An introduction, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2009
Additional documents will be available on the VIU Moodle platform.