Data

Entrepreneurial Innovation by Design

by Frido Smulders

The words entrepreneurship and innovation usually bring to mind an outcome. Perhaps a new company or a novel design. But what about the behaviour that leads to those innovations, bridging the gap between ideas and realisation? Let’s demystify what this means and gain a deeper understanding by exploring design-driven entrepreneurial behaviour within organisations.

This elective course aims to connect a theoretical understanding of design-driven entrepreneurial behaviour with real experiences of people in organisations. Explore the idea of entrepreneurship by examining the human interactions and collaborations that are key for creating change and overcoming obstacles between idea and realisation. Build a mental model that can be used as a lens to observe behaviour within organisations. Consider the dynamics related to innovative organisational behaviour, taking into account the role of technology, people and organisation. And understand the role of the designer within the entrepreneurial innovation process.

Use tools like Kolb’s experiential learning model and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to explore your own personality and develop a language to better understand the behaviour of others. Connect and map key behaviours to innovation processes. Examine case studies to learn the theory. Prepare to have a discourse with people in the trenches. Talk to them to make connections between theory and what happens in the real world.

“I am proud to bring students the knowledge and understanding that took me 30 years to develop. The people dimension, the social interactive dimension of innovations, this been the consistent theme throughout my whole career. I think all design students need to know about this and I want to present it in such a way that it is relevant for them.”

Design Engineering Contest

by Arjen Jansen

Building a robot to compete in a challenge sounds like fun. But what if you have limited resources and time? This course is a simulation of a real-life design engineering experience. How to make something work with what you’ve got. It’s about nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts creative engineering but also about the roles people play in a team.

In the real world of design, there are deadlines and you don’t always have the things you need to make something work. This elective course aims to provide an engaging experience that encourages smart engineering as well as teamwork.

Embrace the idea that design is not just about drawing something, but it’s about making something that actually works. With a rule book and a basic toolbox, teams must build a remote-controlled robot that can complete a simple task like building a tower out of blocks.

Work together to find unique engineering solutions to the challenge. Participate in an elimination style competition, going round by round with the other robots. Gain an understanding of the roles people play in a team, including your own. How do people contribute, how do they behave and what can they learn about themselves while working on an assignment in a team?

In the end, some will win, others will fail, but everyone will learn.

“I think this course is important because it’s real-life engineering, a perfect emulation for how design engineering in real life works. And even the people that lose in the first round still think it’s an amazing experience. They go through the same learning process as the people that win the contest. There’s not just one winner, they’re all winners.”