As the challenges and opportunities facing society and businesses grow more complex, and as stakeholders grow more diverse, organizations are increasingly seeking innovative ways to create and capture value. In this course, we will explore organization-centered methods of innovation while gaining proficiency in human-centered methods of innovation through an approach known as “design thinking.”
Design thinking is an iterative problem-solving process centered on understanding users and their unarticulated needs throughout the journey of product/service interactions. Systematic application of ethnographical research, ideation, prototyping, and customer co-creation lead to innovations grounded in human-centered design, applicable for both intrapreneurship (innovating within an organization) and entrepreneurship.
Students will apply design thinking methodologies and innovation tools independently and in teams throughout the course of the semester to gain proficiency in innovation and design thinking tools and techniques. As design thinking expert Jeremy Alexis states, “Design is too important to be left (only) to designers.”