Course Description

"Managing Innovation: Entrepreneurship and Leadership in a Changing World" is an advanced-level course offered by RWTHx that delves deep into the intricacies of business innovation management. This comprehensive program is designed to equip learners with the essential skills and knowledge needed to navigate the complex landscape of innovation in today's rapidly evolving business environment.

The course focuses on cultivating creativity and managing the innovation process effectively, introducing a flexible and iterative innovation management process model. Students will learn to guide new product concepts through various stages, from development to launch and nurture, ultimately concluding with a thorough project review.

What You'll Learn

• Management of different types of innovation projects and factors contributing to their success
• The crucial role of creativity in innovation and methods to enhance individual and organizational creativity
• Success factors at the innovation project level
• The importance of soft skills and leadership capabilities in successful innovation management
• Techniques for problem-solving in the development stage of the innovation process
• Utilization of open innovation and the TRIZ method
• Strategies for the diffusion and adoption of innovative products or services
• Methods to finalize an innovation launch and conduct effective project reviews

Prerequisites

While not mandatory, successful completion of the course "Customer-Centric Innovation" (MTI002x) is highly recommended. Additionally, prior completion of "Managing Disruptive Change" (MTI001x) would be beneficial. The course is designed for those with an intermediate level of understanding in business and management concepts.

Course Content

• The Development stage of an Innovation Project
• The Launch and Nurture Stage
• Launch and Project Review
• Problem-solving activities in innovation
• Experimentation as a core activity of problem-solving
• Open innovation and the TRIZ method
• Diffusion and adoption of innovative products or services
• Consumer reactions towards new products
• Finalizing an innovation launch
• Key points of a project review

Who This Course is For

This course is ideal for professionals looking to advance their careers in roles such as Product Manager, Engineer, Process Manager, and Marketing Manager. It has been successfully completed by learners from various industries, including Product Management, Engineering, Human Resources, and Change Management, as well as Consultants and Entrepreneurs.

Real-World Applications

The skills acquired in this course are directly applicable to real-world business scenarios. Learners will be able to:

• Implement effective innovation management strategies in their organizations
• Lead and manage creative teams more efficiently
• Develop and launch new products or services with a higher success rate
• Analyze and improve existing innovation processes
• Apply problem-solving techniques to overcome challenges in product development
• Utilize open innovation methods to leverage external resources and ideas
• Conduct thorough project reviews to continuously improve innovation efforts
• Enhance their leadership skills in driving innovation within their organizations