Semester Theme 2 / Semester Theme 2

Department of Technology and Innovation, Odense
Teaching activity id: PDXSET2-U2.
Teaching language: English.ECTS / weighting: 21 ECTS / 0.350 full-time equivalent.
Period: Spring 2017.Approved: 24-10-16.
Offered in: Odense.

Subject director:
Assistant Professor Steffen Michael Sørensen, Institut for Teknologi og Innovation.

Content - Key areas:
Project Work
The project will deal with the conceptual design of a given product idea. The student will learn how to handle a creative and innovative product development process with focus on the phase where the product idea based on market inputs is conceptualized. The student should use the theory taught in the courses PDI2 and behaviour and markets to identify, trace and map technology developments in the specific technological area and link this to the analysis of the market behaviour including an assessment of the users and consumers needs and purchasing parameters. The student will learn how to visualize and present creative solutions to complex problems. The project is carried out in project teams made up of normally 6 students on each team. The composition of the teams will ensure that a variety of cultural and technical interests and qualifications are present on each team. A suitable number of milestones will be specified for the project at which the team presents a joint written report followed by an individual oral presentation, supported by help of power point, overheads or wall sheets.

To support the project work there will be courses in:

Product Development and Innovation 2
The aim of the course is to build upon the introductory course (PDI 1) to grow the understanding of the students on product development and innovation. The course in particular focuses on the role of technology in developing new products. The aim is to enable the students to be able to identify, trace and map technology developments in particular technological areas. The course includes a practical workshop. The individual portfolio will consist of a number of written hands ins corresponding to assignments specified by the supervisor.

Behaviour and Markets
The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the different stakeholders (customers, competitors, and suppliers) surrounding the core business activities. The student will first of all be introduced to the notion of a market and the way a business interacts in the market. Sequentially the students are then introduced to theory about competitors and suppliers and how the business interacts with these in the market. A special area of focus in the course is to introduce the students to aspects of customer behaviour on the business to consumer market and the industrial market. The course will provide students with a foundational knowledge of the central problems of consumer behaviour theory. Students should gain an understanding of the basic psychological, social and cultural factors shaping consumer behaviour. The individual portfolio will consist of a number of written hands ins corresponding to assignments specified by the supervisor.

Creativity and Idea Development
The course unit provides the student with competencies within creative development of product ideas. Questions treated in the course include; what is creativity? the indivdual versus a team. How is idea development structured; what kind of creative techniques can be used to create new product ideas, develop the ideas and evaluate the ideas? The toolbox includes creative techniques like brainstorming, association, visualization, idea sieve, idea maturing etc. Furthermore, the course discusses how the ideas can be visualized by sketching techniques and physical model making.

Learning outcomes:
Knowledge
  • Understand and use hand-made sketching to visualize ideas and develop conceptual design
  • Understand and use model-making as a creative and communicative tool in a development proces
  • Describe the basic concept of a market
  • Understand consumers- behaviour in an individual, social and cultural perspective.

Skills
  • Identify, trace and map technology developments in particular technological areas
  • Describe technological development based on key dimensions of a technology
  • Perform a competence-based analysis of a technological area
  • Analyse and evaluate the results of a competence-based analysis of a technological area
  • Describe and evaluate the importance of dominant designs for a particular technology
  • On a relational level, to understand and use techniques and methods for creative processes, on an individual level as well as in teams
  • Attend and coach a 1-day creative workshop
  • Develop and describe a product-concept, based on a team-based, creative and innovative idea-development proces
  • Analyze the competitive situation within a specified market
  • Describe how segmentation on both B2B and B2C markets can be set up.

Competencies
  • On a multistructural level understand barriers and preconditions for a creative environment in an organization
  • Identify the most relevant theories for explaining behaviour for further market research and the product innovation process in general.


Time of classes:
Spring

Form of instruction:
Teaching will be through lectures, tutorials, discussions and project work in teams. The lectures are to present the topics and will often be followed by discussions and tutorials to achieve a deeper understanding. The lectures will also serve as the theoretical background to the subjects, which will be studied in a more practical context during the project work.
As part of the course the students will also attend a creativity workshop in practice lead by an experienced coach.
External guest lecturers and problems based on real life tasks.

Examination conditions:
The complete portfolio including a final project report has to be submitted on time and in accordance with the requirements specified at the start of the semester.

Evaluation
Internal examination assessed according to the 7-point grading scale based on an overall assessment of:
• An oral examination (70%)
• A number of assignments completed during the semester and announced at the beginning of the semester (30%)

Comments:
The module is part of the first-year examination.

In the overall assessment of the student's performance or proficiency at the oral examination, theories and methods, that are relevant for the project and its results, weigh approx. 50% of the final examination result, whereas the examination of the other elements of the module weigh 50%.

Programmes:
Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Product Development and Innovation)
2. semester, mandatory. Offered in: Odense