Students will learn how to be a primary force of innovation, they will be directly involved in market challenges, which will encourage them to be creative, as they will be asked to help companies solve issues connected with product innovation.
Innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity are key-factors in contemporary management and marketing. Firms can win the competition challenge when they are able to produce new products and services. Therefore, the class is project-oriented, provoking students’ creativity as students will be asked to solve a real-life business problem presented by a multinational or a SME. Students will enjoy the unique opportunity to work closely with companies based in Italy, and the goal of the students is to help them develop new/existing products and services and launch it on the market to win the market challenge.
Students will be part of the House of Innovation, an open class; they will work in cross-functional teams, interacting with the students of other courses who will be engaged in solving the same problem on the basis of their course objectives and competences. The course is organized as a workshop for new product/service development, allowing students to explore market opportunities and to propose new concepts to the market. In addition to working in teams, they will attend labs, do simulation exercises and role-playing games, and will be asked to interact with the business community outside the university campus.
Lectures will provide students with the know-how, competencies and tools in order to enhance their skills and solve the problems their project requires. Entrepreneurs and business people involved in the innovation business will be invited to lecture. This includes companies such as 3M, Banfi, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, and a number of Italian SMEs and start-ups.
The course will focus on the process of designing, launching and managing new products/services. Product or service development is central to management in general, as well as to marketing activities, as it allows innovation to meet the evolution of market needs and opportunities. The course investigates the evolution of the new product management, from the birth of an idea and of a concept, up to the evaluation of the project and its development. It will also help students to understand the dynamics of innovation within organizations, particularly aiming to create and strengthen a culture of innovation.
Product/service innovation is one of the main responsibilities of a marketing manager and, at the same time, a challenge for the entire management team by stimulating innovation, motivating creativity, constantly producing new products/services, acting proactively and anticipating market/individual needs and competitors. Innovation goes beyond the simple production process, being part of company missions and organizational culture. Innovation is the core of successful contemporary companies. Although thousands of new products/services are introduced onto the market every year, the success rate of new products tends to be very low. The primary reason for this is the complexity of the process itself which goes well beyond creativity and good ideas, being the combination of innovation, technical skills and operational capabilities, which students will hopefully gain and improve upon completing the course.
Key points and topics:
· Design, creative and critical thinking
· Team-building and project management
· New Product Process
· Opportunity identification and selection
· Market research and scenario analysis
· Strategic planning
· Idea generation, preparation and alternatives
· Concept/project evaluation
· Product design, development and prototypeization
· Product launch
· Product related rules and regulations
· Fund Raising