Innovation in Engineering

Source: https://www.dtu.dk/english/education/graduate/innovation-in-engineering Parent: https://www.dtu.dk/english/education/graduate/admission-and-deadlines

Innovation is a key competence for all engineers! That is why we teach innovation competences to all master students at DTU in the course ‘Innovation in Engineering’.

In a hands-on course, students learn how to engage with innovation through learning a process, methods and tools and by adopting an innovation mindset!

The DTU innovation mindset consists of six core principles:

• Be iterative,
• Be creative,
• Be relevant,
• Be at ease,
• Be empathetic,
• Be inquisitive

Students will learn how to innovative in multidisciplinary teams and go through an innovation process from exploring an innovation theme, to identifying opportunities, creating ideas, developing and testing concepts and finally pitching their innovation to a diverse audience.

Students in the course will form multidisciplinary teams, complemented with a team facilitator. The facilitators are students that already have innovation competences and are participating in the integrated sister course ‘facilitating multidisciplinary teams in innovation’.

Together, the teams learn through doing a real-life innovation project in a state-of-the-art hybrid course in which we benefit both from the opportunities e-learning has to offer, combined with the facilities and atmosphere of the DTU Campus.

The course is probably quite different from most of the courses you are used to, as it takes a hands-on approach to teach innovation, and because – for the second and third week - you will be working independently in an innovation team using the teaching material and instructions provided online via DTU Learn.

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Aims of the course

This course aims to contribute to the development of innovation competences of all master students at DTU. We aim for our engineering graduates to:

• Understand and experience what it takes to do innovation.
• See the big picture of the innovation landscape, and find their position and role within it.
• Lead and/or contribute to innovation initiatives in a multidisciplinary team context.
• Go into the world with a signature DTU mindset and approach to innovation.
• Be able to communicate about innovation processes and outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
• Familiar with a toolkit of methods and tools for innovation.

The course in brief:

• All communication about the course and all course material will be on the course page on DTU learn.
• The course description is accessible via: 42504 Innovation in Engineering (August) and 42500 Innovation in Engineering (January & June)
• Class time: every day from 8:30 – 17:00 unless otherwise indicated in the course program (see below).
• The course consists of exercises, lectures, and project-based work (in teams).
• All coursework will take place on campus including accessing and working with the online course material.
• Presence: the course is a full-time course, which requires presence of all students on campus during class time.
• All project work is expected to happen on campus. Most of the course work happens in your project team.
• Course Kick-off: Monday, 3rd of January, 10:00. The course kick-off will take place in the Oticon Salen and your presence is mandatory.

Course structure:

The course consists of two parts:

Week 1: BOOST module

Purpose: to introduce you to the course topics and explain how and why we are teaching innovation to all master students at DTU. To prepare you for the innovation experience in week 2 and 3.

Content: Introduction to the course, to innovation, the innovation themes, team formation, innovation exercises, theory, and preparation exercises.

Week 2 & 3: EXPERIENCE MODULE

Purpose: to let you experience an innovation process in a multidisciplinary team context in a systematic way. To provide you with innovation competences that you can apply in your future career as engineer.

Content: Doing an innovation project through a structured and facilitated innovation process and mindset. Each day in the two weeks of this module has dedicated activities for your innovation project team with deliverables most of the days. The project ends with a pitch of the concept that you have developed on the final day.

Learning objectives

A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:

• Explain the importance of and relationship between feasibility, viability, desirability, responsibility and sustainability of an innovation
• Explain the innovation process through a chosen innovation process model
• Explain the different approaches to and areas of innovation in the innovation landscape defined in the DTU School of Innovation
• Explain methods for working in the different stages of an innovation process e.g., exploration, ideation, iteration, designing, and building
• Apply an innovation process model in an innovation project, that encompasses phases of exploration, ideation, iteration, designing, and building
• Evaluate and adapt the different phases of the innovation process
• Contribute with her or his disciplinary background in the different stages of the innovation process
• Give and receive constructive and appropriate feedback to and from team members and other teams
• Reflect on how to act constructively in contexts characterized by decision-making with high uncertainty and risks of making mistakes
• Make informed and qualified decisions in an innovation process with regards to the viability, feasibility, desirability, sustainability, and responsibility of a solution
• Reflect on his or her role, ways of working, and value as an engineer in the innovation process
• Communicate the design of a fitting innovation concept in relation to the problem at hand to relevant stakeholders

What can you expect in the course?

We will facilitate team formation during the second day of class on Tuesday the 4th of January. We will facilitate the team formation to create diverse and multidisciplinary teams. This is important for the learning experience and objectives in the course, as we know that diverse teams generally perform better in doing innovation.

During the course, you will be able to work at Skylab with your team. The course home will be in the Arena. The project work in week 2 and 3 of the course will be done through the material and instructions provided on DTU Learn. There will be the possibility to reach out to the teaching team and TA’s of course.

Furthermore, every team will be assigned an innovation facilitator. These are students that are taking the sister course ‘Facilitating Innovation in Multidisciplinary teams’. The facilitator will be responsible for supporting the team during their innovation project.

The course is a pass/non pass course.

Course program