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2015/2016  KAN-CCBLO2001U  Innovation in Flux: An Asian Perspective on Innovation

English Title
Innovation in Flux: An Asian Perspective on Innovation

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Spring
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc og MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Sudhanshu Rai - Department of Intercultural Communication and Management (ICM)
Main academic disciplines
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Globalization and international business
  • Innovation
Last updated on 18/01/2016
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors: Learning Objectives
The students will:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of innovation in practice.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of emerging economy.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how to work with innovation under constraints.
  • Demonstrate how to apply innovation theories in an Asian contexts.
  • Understand and demoonstrate how to build new business models in an Asian context.
Course prerequisites
Students wanting to take this elective should have some knowledge of economics, business economics, sociology, marketing, sales, and awareness of innovation theories.

In addition; the students should also bring to class a box of discarded items from their home to be used in class. This box and its items are important for the progression of the class. It is important to note that students should keep the items small, easy to work with, easy to disassemble into components for reconstruction purposes. This box of discarded domestic items will be used as prop to engage with the practice of innovation
Examination
Innovation in Flux: An Asian Perspective on Innovation:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual
Size of written product Max. 10 pages
This report will document the innovation experiences the students have had; each student will take a personal perspective of the innovation journey. The report will reflect the learnings aided by theory as well as experiences. Students will be expected to reflect critically about the innovation process and the challenges caused by the nature of flux. The role of theory or lack of it in clarifying flux, the report will describe in detail their learnings from their innovation journey. Their insight into the probably ways to manage innovation over time, in understand innovation in flux.

I expect all students to actively take part in class innovation initiatives that they have undertaken.
Assignment type Project
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

Background

 

 

 

The purpose of his examination is to determine the level of understanding the student has acquired from the literature, the seminars/workshops, and the empirical experience from Asia. This will be based on a report which will be called the students innovative journey. This report is a reflective statement of how the students have learnt, what inspired the students during the lecture and how have they made sense of that inspiration in the context of their own innovation in practice activities. This report should have reflections and thoughts from each of the three aspects of the students experience, namely the literature, (Those articles that inspired the student most and why), the issues from the workshops (using the scrum report) and references from the personal diary the students will maintain during their experience.

 

Writing the innovative Journey report

Each student will be expected to prepare and present the innovative Journey report which will consist of materials from the seminars, the literature and the empirical experience in India. The report is the culmination of each individual’s reflection on his or her learning and the innovative journey from the start to the end. The student should identify a dominant theme or an idea that most inspired him or her most during the lecture, in the literature or from the empirical experience, a topic or an issue that influenced his or her thinking and how his or her journey has been shaped by that thinking subsequently. In short this report is the testimony of each of the student’s personal learning, sense making, reflection and critical appreciation of their engagement with the subject matter of Innovation.

 

The oral exam will further explore the journey in a dialogue. I am not looking for a right or wrong answer, or a best way to articulate an idea, but I am looking for a convincing innovative journey, which demonstrates that the individual has indeed reflected, showed understanding of the material treated and is able to synthesis different aspects of experience in a coherent reflective innovative journey, where the learning’s from the lecture, the personal diary and the literature is well put together in support of the individuals journey.

 

Use of literature

The readings are there to create a framework for understanding the innovative sprit and what it means to engage with innovation. How researchers have addressed this issue. The students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the literature within the context of their own journeys. The use of literature in terms of references must add value to the student’s central discussion point or arguments, I do not expect students to make references just for the sake of it, only refer if the argument from the articles and books are in line with your central theme or point being discussed. You are free to use the scrum report as a referencing mechanism as well.

 

Use of Scrum report and lectures

The seminars/workshops are the key to the report; while the literature provides the general framework of innovation and considered opinion of authors, the lectures provide the space for creating meaning, reflection and understanding. Great value will be given to students who show affective reflection on the lecture and how the lectures have influence their own thinking about engaging with the  practice of innovation..

 

Using the personal diary from the trip, The empirical part of the report

The students will be required to write daily personal diary based on their days experience after the reflection sessions each day, during the field trip. Each student should dedicate at least 30 min or more to this task in quiet personal time. During this time the students might want to write their diary using the following structure, but are free to use any structure they choose as long as the structure is advantageous for their learning. The empirical part of the report should be attached as appendix to the main report and appropriate referencing should be made as and when necessary.

 

Structure of daily experiential diary

The diary should be divided into Five parts

Part 1 A time line of the key events in the day that made you make a mental note for further reflection

Part 2, the actual reflection on the mental note or the time line

Part 3, where in the literature can you find linkages to this reflection

Part 4, your personal opinion about the series of reflections

Part 5, your take home or your conclusion
Course content and structure

Course description

This course will focus on the idea of innovation in flux, meaning we will start from current innovation ideas, theoretical models, conceptual frameworks and then move on to emerging economies with a focus on how they engage with innovation, how different is it from current theories, if there is indeed a difference or are the emerging economies simply copying and coping with the theories.  The literature will be divided into themes related to innovation in flux. These themes will target the specific stage of the experience where the student is at. 

 

The themes are as follows;

 

•           Emerging economies and developing countries, is there a case for this difference, a critical appreciation.

•                    Understanding the nature of flux in emerging economies

•                    The economics of innovation in emerging economies

•                    The markets for innovation in emerging economies

•                    The process of innovation

•                    Types of innovation, co-creation, frugal innovation etc in emerging economies

•                    Challenges and obstacles 

•                    Innovation policies and their impact

•                    Innovative firms, best practices, success stories and what can we learn

•                    Entrepreneurial leadership and innovative potential, connecting the dots.

•           Focusing on the idea and building a business; exploring entrepreneurial capacity from an innovation standpoint.

•           A critical evaluation of innovation in flux, an Asian perspective, insights and conclusions

 

This course is to allow the students to work in a studio environment while they are working with their project and use innovation theories as a reference to apply it to their project at hand. In doing so they will be encouraged to understand the efficacy and the scope of innovation theories within the context of emerging economies, how to combine ideas, with concepts, with business models for engaging with innovation would be at the center of the innovation experience of the students.  In affect this course will expose the students to their own innovation experience; while using the literature as scaffolding to support the student experiences. Scaffolding in this context indicates the theory acting as a skeletal supporting ideas, concepts and notions of innovation using which the students have the possibility to understand innovation by engaging in the experience of innovation.

 

The focus on innovation flux is to expose the student to the dynamic nature of the emerging economies. Flux indicates uncertainty and unknown or unidentifiable risks. The students will be introduced to such an environment in a studio setting where flux will be simulated. The endeavor is to use the idea of flux as a positive determine innovation.

 

Questions such as; why are emerging economies dynamic, To what extent flux has an impact on their innovation output and, what are the most appropriate ways to deal with flux and uncertainty during the innovation process.

 

 The students will be taken through an innovation experience of their own where in class they will be exposed to the practice of innovation. All students will be required to build something innovative during class hours in groups while they use theories to understand and critically evaluate the relevance of literature in the context of practice.
Teaching methods
The teaching methodology will rely on project base engagement in a studio setting. Students will be required to form into groups, combine their boxes of discarded material and start planning their innovation journey. All contact hours will take place in the studio with a heavy emphasis on experiential learning. There would be workshops that will aim to elucidate the theoretical relevance of the experiences the projects are engaged with. Contact hours will primarily focus on reflective thinking, critical appreciation and hands on experiential understanding of the innovation process through project based dialogue and analysis of learning by doing.

The studio work will develop along two parallel trajectories; the first: the theoretical work where evaluation and analysis of the innovation literature will be engaged with. The second aspect of this course is the practice or the experience element. Here the student will get their hands dirty by engaging with innovation from the scratch. This experience will be simulated across the entire course work.

All students who have been accepted into this program will be requested to fill a box with broken, useless objects, ready to be discarded objects, old objects, etc. Each student will bring this box of discarded objects to the first class where they will be divided into groups. All the students will them merge their boxes and then will be asked to create an innovative products with the waste from the collection of boxes. The group work in the studio will focus on experiential learning targeted at project work. Students will create an innovative project out of the waste they have with them. They will then scaffold the theory around their experience for a better understanding of the innovation process, thinking and theory.
Last updated on 18/01/2016