• Understand how interaction design can resolve problems that meet end user needs and expectations.
• Understand how to set objectives for a design brief, including problem definition and user group identification.
• Understand how to document the design working process and use this documentation for presentations.
• Understand how to effectively work with others in a creative problem-solving setting.
• Understand how to effectively communicate ideas in the design working process and in solution presentations.
• Understand the importance of commitment and collaboration in finding implementable solutions.

This elective course is offered with support from CIEL (Copenhagen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab) under its Entrepreneurship Excellence Program, specifically its Green Innovation in Cities initiative designed to increase innovation and entrepreneurship in the interests of building urban sustainability.
 
This graduate course in practical creative approaches to innovation provides students with a broad-based understanding of creative problem-solving in business from both theoretical and    applied orientations. Students are presented with a comprehensive overview of theory about creative problem-solving and its development as it relates to finding solutions to real-world business problems. A significant characteristic of this course is its use of hands-on practice to enhance the students’ personal competences in creative problem-solving. Students will also identify areas in which they may need to access expertise from partners, service providers, or other stakeholders. A key value in the course is its use of current societal problems as grounding and context. By using design and innovation cases and examples illustrating specific approaches to challenges, the aim of this course is to train students to tackle contemporary societal problems –environmental sustainability – and to formulate and develop creative and innovative solutions to those challenges – cleantech solutions. 
 
This course will include experiments inside and outside the classroom aimed at building the skill sets required for the group projects focused on specific cleantech design briefs. Students will be assigned to groups on the first day of class and tasked with re-defining the brief presented to them for their group projects. Students must investigate the problem and formulate and develop a solution or solutions to that problem. Milestones will be established, and students will be encouraged to consult with their peers and external stakeholders throughout the course for ideas and support.
 
The group projects will be presented to a panel of external judges for their feedback. Although these presentations, which constitute the Mid-term Assignments for the course, will not be graded, satisfactory completion is the prerequisite for eligibility to write the Final Examination that counts for 100% of the grade for the course.
 
Classes will be scheduled for Fridays 8.55-17.00 with a break for lunch. There will be presentations by invited guest speakers on specific topics in the five workshop-style classes. The course will be structured as follows:
 
Class 1 (28 June 2013) – An overview of theory that can provide insights on creativity, innovation and the role of design in innovation and Preliminary Assignment project group exercises that will focus on several articles and videos for review before the first class.
 
Class 2 (5 July 2013) – A presentation on the cleantech domain followed by an introduction to user-centered research methods and an in-class exercise.
 
Class 3 (12 July 2013) – An overview of methodologies in creative problem-solving, including cases and examples of creative problem-solving in action with a related exercise.
 
Class 4 (19 July 2013) – An examination of brainstorming and creative techniques and also the use of scenarios and storytelling with a related exercises.
 
Class 5 (26 July 2013) – An intensive mentoring session on group projects followed by a comprehensive review of the content of the course.
 
31 July 2013 – Student Project Group Presentations (Mid-term Assignment): Presentations will be made to a panel of external judges who will provide feedback on the design of the projects.
  
The course’s development of personal competences:
Students are expected to engage fully in the learning experience that this course offers with its focus on the practical aspects of creative approaches to innovation. The importance of clear and concise written and verbal communication will be stressed throughout the course. In addition to the material on innovation covered in the course, students will develop hands-on skills in case analysis, group dynamics and formal group business presentations.

Textbooks:
 
Lidwell, W., Holden, K. and Butler, J., (2010), Universal Principles of Design, revised and updated: 125 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design, ISBN-13: 978-1592535873.
 
Braungart, M. and McDonough, W. (2002), Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things, ISBN-13: 978-0865475878.
 
Hawken, P., Lovins, A. and Lovins, L.H. (2008), Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Chapter 1 – The Next Industrial Revolution, Chapter 5 – Building Blocks and Chapter 14 – Human Capitalism, http://www.natcap.org/sitepages/pid20.php.
 
Readings:
 
Innovation, entrepreneurship and cleantech
 
Horwitch, M. and Mulloth, B. (2010), “The interlinking of entrepreneurs, grassroots movements, public policy and hubs of innovation: The rise of Cleantech in New York City,” Journal of High Technology Management Research, Vol. 21, pp. 23-30.
 
Gaglio, C.M. and Winter, S. (2009), “Entrepreneurial alertness and opportunity identification: Where are we now?” Pp. 305-325 in Cardrud, A.L. and Brännback (Eds.), Understanding the entrepreneurial mind, Springer Science+Busines Media.
 
Hidalgo, A. and Albors, J. (2008), “Innovation management techniques and tools: A review from theory and practice,”R&D Management, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 113-127.
 
Cooke, P. (2010), “Socio-technical transitions and varieties of capitalism: Green regional innovation and distinctive market niches,” Journal of Knowledge Economics, Vol. 1, pp. 239-267.
 
Amabile, T.M. (1993), “What does a theory of creativity require?” Psychological Inquiry, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 179-237.
 
Davies, A, (2012), “Conclusion: Sustaining grassroots sustainability enterprise: Challenges and opportunities,” Enterprising communities: Grassroots Sustainability Innovations: Advances in Ecopolitics, Vol. 9, pp. 189-199.
 
Magnusson, M. and Martini, A., (2008) “Dual organizational capabilities: From theory to practice – the next challenge for continuous innovation,” International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 42, No1-2, pp. 1-19.
 
Carvalho, L. Mingardo, G. and Van Haaren. J. (2012), “Green urban transport policies and cleantech innovations: Evidence from Curitiba, Göteborg and Hamburg,” European PlanningStudies, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 375-396.
 
Caprotti, F. (2011), “The cultural economy of cleantech: Environmental discourse and the emergence of a new technology sector,” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 37, pp. 370-385.
 
Cooke, P. (2008), “Cleantech and an analysis of the platform Nature of Life Sciences: Further reflections upon platform policies,” European Planning Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 375-393.
 
Kaplan, R.S. (1998), “Innovation action research: Creating new management theory and practice,” Journal of Management Accounting Research, Vol. 10, pp. 89-118.
 
Amabile, T.M., (1998), “How to kill creativity,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, No. 5, pp. 76-87.
 
Johnson, M.W. and Suskiewicz, J.(2009), “How to jump start the cleantech economy,” Harvard Business Review, November, pp. 52-60.
 
Porter, M. and Kramer, M. (2011), “Creating shared value: How to reinvent capitalism – and unleash a wave of innovation and growth,” Harvard Business Review, January/February, pp. 63-77.
 
OECD (2012),The Role of Business Models in Green Transformation. https://www1.oecd.org/sti/innovationinsciencetechnologyandindustry/49537036.pdf
 
Levy, David (2011), “Growing clean energy through business model innovation.” http://climateinc.org/2011/06/bmi/
 
Amram, M. and Kulatilaka, N. (2009), “The invisible green hand: How individual decisions and markets can reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” California Management Review, Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 194-219.
 
Ibert, O. (2007), “Towards a geography of knowledge creation: The ambivalences between ‘knowledge as an object’ and ‘knowing in practice,” Regional Studies, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 103-114.
 
Adner, R. (2012), The Wide Lens: A new strategy for innovation, Chapter 1 – Why things go wrong when you do everything right,” New York, NY: Portfolio/Penguin.
 
Interaction Design:
Bakker, S., (2012), “Knowing by ear: Leveraging human attention abilities in interaction design,” Journal of Multimodal User Interfaces, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 197-209.
 
Halskov, K. and Nielsen, R. (2006), ”Virtual video prototyping,” Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 199-233.
 
Arvola, M. (2012), “Grading in interaction design education using design practitioners’ conceptions of process quality,” Interacting with Computers, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 472-481.
 
Hoholm, T. and Olsen, P.I. (2012), “The contrary forces of innovation: A conceptual model for studying networked innovation processes,” Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 344-356.
 
Menguc, B. and Auh, S. (2010), “Development and return on execution of product innovation capabilities: The role of organizational structure,” Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 39, No.5, pp. 820-831.
 
Bonner, J.M. (2010) “Customer interactivity and new product performance: Moderating effects of product newness and product embeddedness,”Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 39, No.3, pp. 485-492.   
 
Bakker, S., Antle, A. and van den Hoven, E. (2012), ”Embodied metaphors in tangible interaction design,” Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 433-449.
 
Halskov, K. (2010), “Kinds of inspiration in interaction design,” Digital Creativity, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 186-196.
 
Bruton, D. (2011), “Learning creativity and design for innovation,” International Journal of Technology and Design Education, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 321-333.