GS5105

Title Short:

TechInnovate I: Needs Finding to Concept Generation

Language of Instruction:

English

Valid From:

2016-17 (01-09-16 – 31-08-17)

Teaching Period:

Semester 1

Module Delivered in

7 programme(s)

Module Owner:

JOHN BRESLIN

Module Discipline:

ENGINEERING - College of Engineering & Informatics

Module Description:

This module on TechInnovate will be delivered jointly by the faculty of NUI Galway’s College of Engineering and Informatics and College of Business, Public Policy and Law, and students will be mentored by expert practitioners from technology and investment companies. Students from other postgraduate programmes (PhDs, etc.) will also work with TechInnovate Fellows on a weekly basis. The course encompasses the entire process from identifying domain-specific needs, validating those needs, brainstorming, and concept creation for new technology products.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:

LO1

Demonstrate awareness of the process for innovating technologies

LO2

Demonstrate awareness of how to identify an important unmet domain need taking into consideration domain, scientific and market knowledge

LO3

Demonstrate appreciation of concept generation and brainstorming

LO4

Acquire significant experience of teamwork in a multidisciplinary setting

LO5

Have utilised appropriate approaches to evaluate the concepts

LO6

Be able to reflect on your experience

LO7

Have completed a consulting report on your specific need

Indicative Content

Indicative Content

This module will be delivered following a blended learning model which consists of three primary components: - Online materials (in the Blackboard site for the module) and guided reading; - Weekly workshops with associated activities and discussion; - Individual and team research on the specific need. Attendance and class participation are essential components of this course. During the lectures, students will have the opportunity to ask questions about the lecture topics and to interact directly with academic staff. All reading assignments must be completed prior to attending class. The TechInnovate Fellows are experienced engineers, business people and designers who are spending a year completing a Fellowship in TechInnovation. As such, the needs for the course were generated through careful observation and research by these Fellows. The following topics and will be covered and expanded with regard to a selected need: - Introduction to innovation/needs finding, including needs presentation by Fellows - Problem areas and existing solutions - Area analysis and stakeholders - Weighing factors and filtering needs - Needs presentation by individual students and associated poster - Team formation on selected need - Needs brainstorming and introduction to product design - Organising and selecting concepts - Go-to-market basics - Legal affairs basics - Business models - Presentation on concept development overview

Module Assessment

The module will be assessed on a pass/fail basis. You will be assessed on the quality of your input to the team you are consulting and class participation. Consulting input to the team will take the form of a consulting report to your team. The nature of the consulting report will depend on your discipline, for example: - Engineering Students: Report should address issues of existing technologies. The specific issues and concepts to address will be based on the needs of the team. - Business Students: Report should be a market analysis for the need and concepts evaluated by the team. The specific issues and concepts to address will be based on the needs of the team. - Design Students: Report should describe the user design and user interface issues. The specific issues and concepts to address will be based on the needs of the team. - Domain Experts: Report should address issues in the domain for the need evaluated by the team. The specific issues and concepts to address will be based on the needs of the team. Class participation will be evaluated during each lecture by the teaching faculty. You will be expected to attend all lectures and presentations for your team and the needs presentation. In addition, we will require you to submit an evaluation form for each section of the main textbook. Lastly, evaluations by a mentor working with your team and members of your team will contribute to your final assessment.

Book List

Recommended Bill Aulet, Disciplined Entrepreneurship http://disciplinedentrepreneurship.com Supplementary Steven Blank, Four Steps to the Epiphany http://www.stevenblank.com/books.html Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur, Business Model Generation http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/order.php (Available online via the NUI Galway James Hardiman Library) Jessica Livingston, Founders at Work http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590597141 Renée Mauborgne & W. Chan Kim, Blue Ocean Strategy John Mullins & Randy Komisar, Getting to Plan B

No Written Assessment

Continuous Assessment

Assessment Type

Assessment Description

Outcome addressed

% of total

Marks Out of

Pass Marks

Sitting

Assessment Period

Assessment Date

Duration

Mandatory

Continuous Assessment 1

Class Participation

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

20.00

100

0

First Sitting

Semester 1

n/a

0

True

Continuous Assessment 2

Team and Fellow Assessment

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

30.00

100

0

First Sitting

Semester 1

n/a

0

True

Continuous Assessment 3

Final Consulting Report

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

50.00

100

0

First Sitting

Semester 1

n/a

0

True

No Oral, Audio Visual or Practical Assessment

No Department-based Assessment

No Research

No Study Abroad

No Computer-based Assessment

Workload: Full Time

Workload Type

WorkLoad Description

Learning Outcomes

Hours

Frequency

Average Weekly Learner Workload

Lecture

40 total contact hours = 30 class hours total in lectures + 10 contact hours total with mentors (8 hours every second week for 10 weeks)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

40

Per Semester

3.33

Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact)

200 total non-contact hours (20 hours every week for 10 weeks)

1,2,3,4,5,6,7

200

Per Semester

16.67

Total Hours

240.00

Total Weekly Learner Workload

20.00

Total Weekly Contact Hours

3.33

This module has no Part Time workload.

Recommended Book Resources

• Bill Aulet, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship ; illustrated by Marius Ursache., Disciplined entrepreneurship, New York; John Wiley & Sons, Inc [ISBN: 9781118692288]

Supplementary Book Resources

• Natasha Evers, James Cunningham, Thomas Hoholm 2014, Technology Entrepreneurship: Bringing Innovation to the Marketplace, Palgrave Macmillan [ISBN: 9781137020109]
• The Four Steps to the EpiphanyThe Four Steps to the Epiphany, ; K&S Ranch Publishing LLC Menlo Park [ISBN: 9780989200509]
• written by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur; design, Alan Smith; editor and contributing co-author, Tim Clark; production, Patrick van der Pijl; co-created by an amazing crowd of 470 practitioners from 45 countries 2010, Business model generation (available online through NUI Galway Library), Wiley Hoboken, New Jersey [ISBN: 9780470876411]
• Jessica Livingston, Founders at Work, Apress [ISBN: 9781590597149]
• W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne 2005, Blue ocean strategy, Harvard Business School Press Boston, Mass. [ISBN: 9781591396192]
• John Mullins, Randy Komisar, Getting to Plan B, Harvard Business Press [ISBN: 9781422126691]

This module does not have any article/paper resources

This module does not have any other resources

Module Full Time Equivalent

Discipline

%

Electrical & Electronic Engineering

50

Management

50

Course Stream Code

Course Stream Title

MTN1

MSc in TechInnovation (Awaiting Processing)

PTI2

Postgraduate Diploma in TechInnovation (Part Time) (Reviewed)

PTI1

PTI1 Postgraduate Diploma in TechInnovation (Approved)

SPE1

SPE1 Structured PhD (Engineering) (Draft)

SPE1

SPE1 Structured PhD (Engineering) (Approved)

SPE2

SPE2 Structured PhD (Engineering) (Approved)

SPE2

SPE2 Structured PhD (Engineering) part time (Reviewed)

Module Instructors

Staff Member

Staff Email

JOHN BRESLIN

john.breslin@nuigalway.ie