Innovativeness and new product development

Aims of the course

• Promoting entrepreneurial mindsets among young people
• Reviving and encouraging creativity and innovation
• Developing the capacity of creative confidence and accountability
• Learning about and using different methods of learning about the needs of users
• Encouraging students to introduce modern and efficient development process of products / services and business planning
• Recognizing and use a variety of prototyping methods and techniques
• To provide students with a tool for continuous improvement (of products, services, processes)
• Recognizing and use different methods of market testing
• To present the idea development to the prototype phase
• Developing business presentation for different audiences

Course syllabus

Learn about the process of developing new and innovative products and services with high added value.
1. Enterprising mindset and Entrepreneurship and their role in the socio-economic development
2. Innovativeness and its importance in economic development
3. Design thinking and it's role in solving business problems
4. Anthropological and ethnographic methods of observation: interviews, videography, field observation
5. Empathy and its importance in the understanding of the users' desires and the actual nature of the problem
6. Understanding and application of idea-genration methods
7. Familiarity with and use of prototyping techniques: virtual models, rapid prototyping, testing and improvement of prototypes with iterations
8. Getting to know the technologies and practical work with a variety of prototyping technologies
9. Learning about and use of the methods of effective presentation of ideas and solutions to target audiences
10. Multidisciplinary work and constructive-critical evaluation
11. User testing of the final prototype and evaluation of prototypes with different evaluation models
12. Developing brand name and logo design for the new project.

Course director(s)