IA40430

Please note that this module is not open to UCD MSc or PhD students - please visit the module descriptor for IA50004 should you wish to take a Creative Thinking & Innovation module with us.

The aim of this module is to help participants to access their innate ability for creative thinking and innovation in its broadest sense, and to consider how to develop an opportunistic mindset in exploring ideas in a multidisciplinary team environment. This module is delivered through activity-based exercises and interactive challenges at both individual and group level. The module encompasses three primary areas of skill development and learning, as follows:

• Developing confidence in creative thinking. The objective is to introduce students to the inherent risk of failure in creative thinking and how to learn through prototyping and iteration. Participants are encouraged to use various sources of inspiration in recognizing opportunities and considering where ideas come from
• Evolution of innovative ideas in multidisciplinary teams introduces team working in a creative context. Here, openness to new ideas and passion for ideas presented come into creative conflict. Several approaches to teamwork are introduced and explored to give participants an understanding of their own skills in relation to teamwork
• How to translate ideas into value. We draw upon the Design Thinking framework in learning how to work through a process of understanding your user/customer, generating ideas, prototyping, and testing. Consideration is also given to the importance of being able to clearly define value and pitch an idea.

Students must pass each individual assessable component individually in order to be able to pass the module as a whole.


UCD Innovation Academy

At the UCD Innovation Academy, we are a group of Educator Practitioners with extensive real-world experience as academics, business and social entrepreneurs, tech thinkers, creative professionals and design thinking practitioners. 
 
We take an action-oriented approach to learning, with a combination of individual, group and class tasks and activities, including discussions, presentations and reflection. All of our teaching is grounded in academic rigor, but our focus is on ‘learning by doing’ in a real-world context.
 
**Enrolment on an Innovation Academy module means a commitment to active participation and engagement, which necessitates attendance at all scheduled classes** 

www.innovators.ie