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2014/2015  KAN-CCMVV4010U  Holistic Design in Sustainable Product Innovation

English Title
Holistic Design in Sustainable Product Innovation

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Course period Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 35
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Merrill Jones Barradale - MSC
Course administrator at CBS: Maja Dueholm (md.ikl@cbs.dk)
Course responsible at DTU: Thomas Howard (thow@mek.dtu.dk)
Main academic disciplines
  • Innovation and entrepreneurship
Last updated on 18-02-2014
Learning objectives
This is a project-based course in which students from CBS and Danish Technical University (DTU) work together in teams to develop a product or solve a problem on behalf of a client organization or company. Each project is a real-world challenge involving green energy, environmental sustainability or social welfare. Combining the business and social-science skills of CBS students with the technical skills of DTU students facilitates a holistic design approach, in which both the technical and business challenges of the project are addressed. The course will prepare students to work in multi-disciplinary teams in environments characterized by diverse stakeholder interests and complex problems.

At the end of this course students should be able to
  • define the goals of a design project;
  • manage and execute a holistic product development process in a team context;
  • describe how concepts of sustainability relate to the project at hand;
  • deliver and communicate a thorough design solution;
  • develop a business case for the proposed product design;
  • articulate and propose possible solutions to the business challenges associated with project implementation;
  • reflect critically on the work process, including collaboration with various stakeholders and any trade-offs in satisfying a diverse set of goals.
Course prerequisites
No prerequisites. This course is open to all CBS master's students.
Examination
Holistic Design in Sustainable Product Innovation:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Group exam, max. 5 students in the group
Each student in the group is expected to contribute both to the written report and to the group presentation at the oral exam. The group will be examined together, with questions directed to each individual. The quality of the written report has the largest influence on the final grade; the quality of the oral presentation/exam will influence the final grade only to a moderate degree.
Size of written product Max. 80 pages
Max. 15 pages per student
Common sections and individual contributions should be indicated in the report.
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
10 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period December/January
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content and structure
Client projects are assigned at the beginning of the semester, and teams present their finished projects at the end of the semester, both to their client organizations and, separately, at the final exam. There will be three milestone presentations during the semester focusing on different aspects of the project in which each team presents its work-in-progress to its faculty advisor(s) and another student team for feedback.
 
Throughout the semester, faculty members from the two universities will advise student teams, as well as provide lectures with practical guidance on
·      project planning and control;
·      product design;
·      stakeholder interviews;
·      business case development;
·      financial modeling.
 
The course will be held on Wednesdays during the autumn semester. Lectures, faculty advising, and formal aspects of the course will take place in the morning. Because the course centers around student projects and will require significant time working in teams, students are strongly advised to also keep Wednesday afternoons free for group work (on the DTU side, this course is treated formally as an all-day course in order to facilitate time for group work).
 
To be fair to all course participants, the teaching location will be shared between CBS and DTU. The most likely arrangement will be for teaching to take place at one university during the first half of the semester and at the other university during the second half of the semester. Teaching at CBS will be held at the Studio@CBS.
Teaching methods
At the core of this course stands a design project, with student teams working independently to develop a solution to a problem provided by a client organization or company. The student teams are mixed, with each team including students from CBS and DTU Mechanical Engineering. Examples of organizations providing projects in the past are Grundfos, Gaia Solar, Copenhagen Municipality, Sticks ‘n Sushi, and UNICEF.

Lectures, exercises, and facilitated group work will prepare the students to find a solution for the design task at hand. The pedagogy is studio-based, meaning that it follows a developmental process from client briefing to presentation of student solutions and report write-up.
Last updated on 18-02-2014