FOCUS:OTHER:The Innovation Leadership seminar aims at developing students’ managerial and leadership skills by promoting their critical thinking processes. Additionally, it fosters the development of more traditional project management and innovation management expertise. In the course setting, the students work on a real-life project in collaboration with a leading company in the building industry.
The teaching concept
Our course aims at developing multiple competencies. Having to choose just a few, we choose four and present them in two slides, with some ideas for graphics and very few sentences on “what is our take on the competence” and “how do we do it in this course”
Adaptability and flexibility
Ability to adjust effectively to a changing environment and deal well with changes
What is it about?
The students work on a real-life project in collaboration with a leading company in the building industry. The setting provides them with a complex and challenging problem.
How do we do it in this course
Students conduct a project with diverse stakeholders requiring them to take managerial, technical, personal responsibility for the real-life company case. The design of the course creates a safe context in which students can practice how to work under ambiguity, time pressure, changing priorities and direction and handling stakeholders and team dynamics.
Results
This course is challenging for students, because it places them in a setting filled with novelty and uncertainty, in which they have to deliver for multiple stakeholders, and at the same time define and pursue their own learning objectives. This is one of those rare courses where rather than answering to preselected objectives, students need to define their very own learning objectives and are assessed and graded on whether they have progressed towards achieving them.
As a result, the course promotes their self-directedness and leadership skills at the same time their project management, critical thinking and flexibility/adaptability abilities.
This approach teaches students to:
• Reflect and explore possible personal goals and discover new ideas
• Learn to work in an unknown direction with no certain outcome leading themselves and others
• Explore how a project with internal and external stakeholders works when people have conflicting interests, that might also vary according to the different time perspectives that are taken into account
Students passionately develop new and innovative projects for the partner company. They gain hands-on experience with a real project and deep-dive into rich reflections about their personal opportunities both on leadership and innovation in this process. Students enjoy the innovative teaching techniques.
Project management competecies
Project management competencies – Ability to manage projects and produce results
What is it about?
The course setting requires the development a variety of activities for class presentations, meetings with company and other stakeholders, and coordination among team members. Students need to prioritize their activities and adapt those priorities to their evolving objectives through the semester.
How do we do it in this course
Students learn to self-manage their project while being supported by numerous project management techniques, coaching exercises, and individual feedback through learning diaries. An additional focus is given to design thinking methods and prototyping tools.
Self-direction and self-management
Ability to motivate oneself and organize own work in order to achieve results.
What is it about?
Students need to define their very own learning objectives and are assessed and graded on whether they have progressed towards achieving them.
How do we do it in this course
This course high pressure environment leads to an intense self-reflection journey, team experience and fertilizes their pro-active behavior towards the client. On the personal level, students have to identify and achieve their very own authentic learning objectives. Teaching tools involve the learning diary and self-assessment tools of individual abilities and traits, which helps their reflective journey and teaches them self-directedness
Leadership initiative and responsibility
Ability to motivate and inspire others and support others’ achievements
What is it about?
At the same time they work towards their objectives, the course setting requires to meet a variety of deadlines for class and for delivering to the company stakeholders. Students need to prioritize their activities and adapt those priorities to their own evolving objectives through the semester.
How do we do it in this course
This course high pressure environment leads to an intense self-reflection journey, team experience and fertilizes their pro-active behavior towards the client. On the personal level, students have to identify and achieve their very own authentic learning On the team level, students are teamed up to deliver a real-life project to the company. The teams are diverse and the students’ work focuses on cooperativeness and how to be effective team members. Teaching tools involve peer-to-peer feedback, coaching and open space workshops. On the company level, students learn how to deal with different stakeholders and how to create impactful and sustainable solutions for their client.
Course Description
- Name:
- Innovation Leadership
- Description:
- This course provides participants with the challenging opportunity of working on a real project in collaboration with HHM - HEFTI. HESS. MARTIGNONI. a leading company in the building industry.
- Objective:
- In your team, you will work on a specific assignment originating in the current strategic agenda of HHM. You will have access to the sites and facilities of the partner organization, conduct interviews with members of the management team, with internal and external experts as well as clients and discuss your ideas with top executives. You will gain first-hand experience on the competitive dynamics of the construction industry.
- VVZ:
- 363-1056-00L
- Department:
- D-MTEC
- Level:
- MSc, MAS
- Format:
- Lecture
- Size:
- 25
- Cohort:
- Master of Advance Studies in Management
- Teaching Power:
- 3
- Assessment:
- mode of examination Evaluation of student performance is based on two kinds of deliverables: a 50% weight is put on the team assignment consisting of written reports and presentations. An individual score is given for the completion of a pre-structured learning diary and an active participation in class (50% weight). As the course follows an Action Learning approach the attendance of every student is required throughout the course, i.e. attending class is a must. Absence without permission can not be accepted.
