OPEN INNOVATION AND STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
/
For students attending class, the final valuation is based on in-class interaction and assignments (both at individual and group level). Students will work at individual level and in small groups benefiting from the support of professors and mentors to identify and fine-tune a solution to the challenges presented during the course. The goal of the evaluation is to assess the student’s ability to interact with professors/mentors and peers as well as his/her ability to process the information learned, gather additional information and synthetically pitch in front of an audience.
More precisely, the assignment of the first part of the course represent the 70% of the exam, while the second part (with the visiting professor) the remaining 30%.
To succeed, students must obtain not less than 18 (eighteen) out of 30 (thirty). Students whose groupwork obtain a total sum higher than 30 are entitled to pass the exam with honor (cum laude).
Tailor-made work assignments will be assigned by the teacher to students who are not able to attend the class.
The course is a balanced mix of theory and practice in the emerging field of the innovation, with a particular focus on open innovation and startup/scaleup ecosystems. Students will understand the most advanced applications of open innovation (supported by business cases from global innovation leaders) and the principles behind the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems (including data analysis and international comparisons of innovation life cycles).
Special seminars featuring visiting professors from San Francisco State University will enrich the learning experience.
Specifically, the course is organized in two parts:
1) The FIRST part of the course (30 hours) takes place in the first part of the second semester. It includes introductory lectures to about open innovation and startup ecosystems and group work. Real case studies on global companies related to open innovation models will be presented and discussed. Different scaleup ecosystems’ trajectory of evolution (innovation life cycle) will be showcased with the goal of triggering qualitative (policies and incentives) and quantitative (data) analysis and international comparisons. The aims at providing the students with advanced state of the art knowledge re: two emerging fields such as Open Innovation and Startup Ecosystems.
During the course, the students - in groups – will analyze and propose solutions to the challenges presented. Mentors in collaboration with Mind the Bridge will guide students throughout the problem-solving process. A final pitching session will close the first part of the course.
2) The SECOND part of the course (10 hours) takes place in the last part of the semester and is organized during a one-week period. It includes both front lectures and workgroups (conceived to let students practice the managerial tools presented in class). It is focused on supply chain management (including innovation and sustainability related issues). Specific topics will be addressed based on the background of the Visiting Professor coming from San Francisco State University (SFSU) and providing insights to students in the week they spend at Insubria University.
Overall course objectives involve students achieving some advanced learning outcomes, i.e.:
- a thorough knowledge of what innovation is and why it is critical to an organization’s success;
- an understanding about the role of ecosystems and key stakeholders in driving innovation and economic growth and the role of governments;
- examples of how today's entrepreneurs/managers implement open innovation practices to enable technology and strategy transformation;
- Issues and opportunities re: startup-corporate interaction and open innovation will be also analysed through business cases and groupworks.
Therefore, at the end of the course, students will be able to:
- use the appropriate terminology used in the field of study of entrepreneurship and innovation management, with a special focus on open innovation, startups and high-tech companies;
- manage the appropriate tools (presented during the course) to provide (and present) a solution for the proposed challenges.
FIRST PART OF THE COURSE (detailed program):
Introductory lectures:
- open innovation practices
- corporate startup collaboration
- startup/scaleup ecosystems and innovation life cycle (country/region specificities)
Hands-on session:
- Challenge assessment
- Problem solving via data gathering/analysis
- Groupworks (mentors-students interaction on the specific challenges presented)
- Presentation of groupworks (mentors-students interaction).
SECOND PART OF THE COURSE (detailed program)
Main topics addressed by the Visiting Professor from SFSU: technology and innovation with special focus on practices necessary to manage companies’ supply chain. Detailed program to be defined once visiting professors are appointed.
The detailed program along with the schedule of the lessons will be published also on the e-learning platform.
Lectures, case discussions, groupwork, presentation
Office hours as indicated in the professors' homepage.
E-mail:
alessia.pisoni@uninsubria.it
alberto.onetti@uninsubria.it