INNOVATE 100G : Innovation through Design
Business and Economics
2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Utilising a combination of lectures, learning activities, and workshops in the Unleash Space (https://www.cie.auckland.ac.nz/unleash-space/) students learn to develop user empathy in order to create solutions and gain additional insights into the innovation process. Students from different disciplines work individually and in teams on everyday and "wicked" problems, defining needs and problems from which to to create solutions, interventions, and new approaches to improve societal situations, identify beginnings of a product, or create a compelling digital experience. The course uses an experiential approach to user-centered innovation. Students have access to a wide variety of maker space equipment and digital tools, allowing iteration through stages of prototyping to understand how product and service innovations address user needs, and provide for greater understanding of user feedback.
The course introduces research and practice based frameworks and methodologies (including user centred design and LEGO serious play.) Sustainable innovation is foundational to the course, including understanding and building upon the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
Learning Outcomes
- Apply Innovation processes built upon user centred design and other key research/practice informed design and innovation approaches. (Capability 3.1, 5.1 and 5.2)
- Reflect on each iteration with users during the Empathise-Define-Ideate process to determine what questions were answered and what new questions or new ideas should be explored through subsequent iterations. (Capability 5.2 and 6.1)
- Apply tools and techniques that can be used for visualising and prototyping to communicate and gain feedback about the solutions you propose. (Capability 5.1 and 5.2)
- Work collaboratively and individually to create a range of early stage prototypes to explore user needs and capture human-centred insights that help to define and redefine a problem that matters to users. (Capability 7.1)
- Develop empathy for users and promote the role of the user-centric innovation process to meet needs in society, including products, experiences, and the challenges faced by society and the planet. (Capability 2.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Innovation Challenges | 65% | Individual Coursework |
| Prototyping Tools and Innovation Workshops | 7% | Individual Coursework |
| Team Innovation Project and Presentation | 28% | Group Coursework |
| 3 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||||
| Innovation Challenges | ||||||||||
| Prototyping Tools and Innovation Workshops | ||||||||||
| Team Innovation Project and Presentation | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect a live, online, or recorded one-hour lecture each week, two hours of readings/videos/podcasts along with assimilating/applying the content, six hours of work on assignments, including training on key prototyping tools. Additionally, you'll spend 2 hours during four weeks of the semester participating in the Unleash Space experiential workshop tutorials. A lot of your time will be making prototypes to be used to interact with users and writing up your learning from those interactions, along with preparing video submissions that capture and summarise the work created, your insights that underlie the work, and identifying improvements and next steps.
Expect to work consistently from Week 1, with a somewhat heavier workload in the 4 weeks that include in-person 2 hour experiential workshops in the Unleash Space
Due to the experiential nature of the course, attendance and participation at workshop tutorials is required.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled activities such as lectures. Attendance is required at the Workshop Tutorials held throughout the semester in the Unleash Space as an integral part of this course, supporting the associated experiential learning, to receive credit for these activities.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including workshop tutorials will NOT be available as recordings.
The course may include live online events including lectures, group discussions or tutorials, particularly in response to COVID-19 or other disruptions.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a weekly timetable with 4 experiential learning tutorials throughout the semester.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Other Information
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.