Understand what innovation means and consider the history and developments of innovations that are important in our daily lives. This course considers innovations throughout history identifying that very few innovative ideas are new; the vast majority take something that is already working and improve it, be it a product, service or process.
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You’ll consider the development of an innovation that you are particularly interested in, and, through a short project, produce and share with other learners your interpretation of its history.
What topics will you cover?
- What is innovation? Interpretation in business and within a wider context
- Determining types of innovation: products, processes, services
- Levels of innovation: incremental, radical, disruptive
- Innovation in action: the challenges of an independent, serial innovator
- The solar fridge: finding innovative solutions to challenges in Africa
Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Discuss great innovations from history and share ideas with fellow learners.
- Compare your ideas with those of educators and students from the University of Leeds.
- Explore what the term ‘innovation’ means and reflect on how it is interpreted in business and in wider contexts.
- Contribute to the discussion regarding the different types of innovation and think of examples of each.
- Identify examples of the three levels of innovation: incremental, radical and disruptive.
- Evaluate your chosen innovation in light of your understanding of the types and levels of innovation.
- Research and report on the history and development of an innovation of your choice.
- Record and report on the history of your chosen innovation.
- Share and discuss your report on your chosen innovation with fellow learners.
Who is the course for?
This course is part of the Going to University collection which has been specifically designed for students at schools and colleges. They provide a taster of undergraduate study at the University of Leeds and help students to decide which subject to study at university.
Completion of the courses will also enhance students’ university applications.
The courses can also be used as a teachers’ classroom enrichment resource.
Courses in this collection are also great for people that want an introduction in the specific subjects discussed in each course.
