A Curriculum for Innovation Leaders
The Masters consists of 8 core modules, each worth 15 credits, plus one dissertation project worth 60 credits. The modules are listed below with module name and the school responsible for delivering the module.
Delivering Innovation - Turning ideas into action (Cass Business School)
This module will describe and investigate systematic processes through which novelty is transformed into useful/valuable products and services, which a specific focus on delivering the results of creative work throughout business and professional processes. It will explore case studies of commercial and public organisations, and distinguish between creative and innovative commercial practices and processes. It will also explore how the cultural sector operates in a complex and rapidly changing environment, required to understand not only their own art form and professional practice, but also their relationship to the wider creative economy.
Creative Writing (School of Arts)
This module will develop writing skills by introducing the practice of hearing students' work read by others, and responding critically to their own and others' writing. They will be introduced to tools used in developing a play or screenplay. There will be workshops with visiting writers. The module will stress the importance of documenting, developing and communicating ideas through writing. Skills learned on the course will be applied to support storytelling for leadership.
The Psychology of Creativity and Innovation (School of Social Sciences)
This module will explore ways of developing and fostering creative talent at individual, group and organisational level. It aims to develop skills in building work environments and releasing and guiding creative energy in the workplace. Using psychological principles and research this course provides a unique opportunity to learn how developing creativity and innovation can drive economic performance, employee involvement, and effective organisational change.
'Leading Creative Design (School of Informatics)
This module will draw on theories, models and practices from design science, product design, interaction design and software engineering to teach the importance and roles of creativity and innovation in design projects. The module will introduce and give students experience of applying creativity techniques, running creativity workshops, and comparing and contrasting outcomes from the application of these techniques and workshops with outcomes from other design approaches such as user&45;centred design, contextual inquiry and ethnography-based studies.
Creative Problem Solving and Leadership (Cass Business School)
This module will expose students to formal problem-solving processes. It will also cultivate intuitive decision-making and communications skills and enhance understanding of self, and business and professional worlds as a whole. It will provide direct experience with non-scientific approaches to professional understanding, creativity and problem-solving.
Technologies for Creativity and Innovation (School of Informatics)
This module will introduce, describe and provide opportunities to explore technologies in creative and innovative processes. These technologies will include available creativity problem solving tools, many of which are internet-based, and collaborative technologies for group problem-solving such as digital walls and interactive tabletops.
The Law, Creativity and Innovation (The City Law School)
This module will provide a thorough understanding of all legal impediments and concerns, specifically copyright, ownership, intellectual property, territorial agreements and contract law.
Creativity and the Creative Industries (School of Arts)
This aspect of the programme will inform each of the other modules, and will offer students the opportunity to explore notions of creativity and innovation in different performance arts including music, dance and acting, comparing these ideas to creativity and innovation in other disciplines, and seek transfer of different types of knowledge across domains to enhance creativity and innovation.
Individual Project (Learning Development Centre)
This aspect of the programme will also run throughout the two years, and culminate in the final, personally defined project which aims to both apply and extend the insights of the programme in the participants' own working environments.
" In my experience, there are a few major areas of challenge in achieving successful innovation.
The first of these areas of challenge is to successfully organise/manage the linkage from creative idea through prototyping to production design to production scale-up. This is tough to do even within the ambit of one firm and increases in difficulty where individual firms or group have to cooperate together.
The second area of challenge concerns the inter-play between the effect on the market of the newly introduced innovation and the modelling of likely competitor reactions. In my experience most of us tend to under estimate competitor reaction.
Thirdly, successful innovation is, obviously, where a real financial profit is made and here good financial acumen of real value. "
Iain G. Ferguson, CEO, Tate & Lyle
