Innovation and 
Entrepreneurship

Innovation
The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service

that creates any value or for which customers will pay.
Design thinking
“a human--centered approach to innovations that draws from the designer’s toolkit

to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the
requirements for business success”
Tim Brown, President and CEO of IDEO
Entrepreneur
“somebody who offers an innovative solution to an (often unrecognized) problem.

The defining characteristic of entrepreneurship, is not the size of the
company but the act of innovation.”
The Economist

 

Course Description:

Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential ingredients in building a successful commercial venture. Innovation is the development of novel ideas and technologies such as new products, services, methods, sources of supply. Entrepreneurship is the process of commercializing the ideas and bringing those new technologies to market. Innovation is a key driver for growing companies.

 

Design thinking, a human-centered and solution-focused approach to innovation, presents the opportunity to create products, services, and programs that meet the needs of people. We will strive to recognize that the tools and skills we use to create profitable enterprises can positively benefit our customers’ lives and have a significant impact on our communities.

 

This course will provide students with an understanding of the entrepreneurial process from opportunity identification to idea development to building a business model. There will be an emphasis on problem understanding, design, prototyping, testing, and evaluation. Once a product or service is developed students will the perform market research integrating their learning’s into a business model. This entire process is meant to solve the reason most startup companies fail - because customer’s do not want the company’s offering.

​

USP Learning Outcomes
• Access diverse information through focused research, active discussion,
and collaboration with peers.
• Separate facts from inferences and relevant from irrelevant information
and explain the limitations of information.
• Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of conclusions drawn
from information.
• Recognize and synthesize multiple perspectives to develop innovative
viewpoints.
• Analyze one’s own and others’ assumptions and evaluate the relevance of
contexts when presenting a position.
• Communicate ideas in writing using appropriate documentation.

​

Upon completing this course students will demonstrate the ability to:
•Apply and define the fundamentals of design thinking.
•Apply and define the fundamentals of entrepreneurship.
•Observe consumers in-context, specific to unique cultures and environments & create deep user empathy
•Analyze input from multiple viewpoints to develop a problem statement and test prototypes to learn about the market.
•Perform market research & customer development to identify problems, create solutions & construct a strong business model.
•Brainstorm, ideate and be creative to develop a number of solutions to a given problem.
•Complete a cycle of rapid prototyping and iteration.
•Productively collaborate with teammates from multiple disciplines.
•Pitch startup ideas and communicate a business model in front of peers and the business community.

These goals will be accomplished through a combination of assignments, readings, and discussions. This course assumes a very experiential
approach and students are expected to interact with the business community, participate in class discussion and be active in the teaching/learning
process.