on demand open house
Course is closed
Lead Instructor(s)
Location
On Campus
Course Length
3 Days
Course Fee
$3,600
CEUs
1.8
Sign-up for Course UpdatesWatch Course Webinar
Course is closed
Sign-up for Course Updates

These are times of uncertainty. But also of abundant opportunity. Not least because of AI. In particular generative AI.

This course will enable you to harness these technologies and accelerate innovation to create a more prosperous—and humane, ethical, sustainable and resilient—future for your organization.

The extraordinarily rapid recent pace of innovation in AI—and the swiftly evolving capabilities of generative AI—along with (now well-established) predictive AI and other digital and deep tech, are enabling breakthrough innovations that can create significant new value. At the same time, like other breakthrough technologies that offer wholly new benefits, they also threaten to sweep away much existing investments in skills and knowledge and processes and assets.

THIS COURSE MAY BE TAKEN INDIVIDUALLY OR AS PART OF THE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY.

Course Overview

Learn how to harness these technologies through breakthrough innovation to create a more prosperous and resilient future for your organization. In this intensive, interactive three-day program you’ll acquire the knowledge and knowhow—frameworks and tools—that you need to create new value. You will also learn how to implement ‘responsible’ innovation that at the same time mitigates the downside risks and maximizes the net benefits from a broader systemic perspective.  

This course is particularly relevant right now.

Over the last few months, it has become clear that GPTs—Generative Pre-trained Transformers—are GPTs—General Purpose Technologies.

Although at the outset, early use cases for generative AI were striking, it was not yet clear how significant the overall economic impact would be of better chatbots, faster content generation and some specific niche applications, such as software development and protein folding for drug discovery. Over just the last few months, however, it has become clear that generative pretrained transformers can have an impact throughout the economy in the same way as the printing press, the steam engine, electricity and the jet engine. In particular when deployed, as they will typically be, in combination with other digital and deep tech.

In this course you will learn what are the critical enabling technologies and their key characteristics and capabilities, and why AI and generative AI in particular, is distinctive. Going beyond theory, you will learn about the five key ways in which these technologies have economic impact, the key levels in making use of these technologies, the steps to create the right environment for breakthrough innovation, how to discover and define problems and opportunities, and come up with creative concepts that combine technologies to deliver wholly new benefits.

Led by two scholar-practitioners, who have decades of experience in technology and innovation, and teaching at MIT, this course features intense interactive discussions, highly relevant recent case studies, and in particular hands-on exercises, including project work on issues of importance to you and your organization.

 

Certificate of Completion from MIT Professional Education

Breakthrough cert image
Learning Outcomes
  • Harness the power and potential of digital technologies—in particular, generative and predictive AI, IoT, and robotics—to create new value
  • Find new demand opportunities, develop robust ecosystems, overcome organizational obstacles and gain the traction to drive implementation
  • Create an environment that fosters breakthrough innovation, mutually beneficial partnerships to develop new products, and enhance the user experience
  • Learn how to discover and define problems and opportunities to develop resilient business strategies amid global uncertainty and rapid cultural change
  • Come up with creative concepts that combine technologies to deliver wholly new benefits
  • Deliver responsible innovation that mitigates the downside risks, and maximizes the net benefits

     

Program Outline

This course runs 9:00am-5:00pm EDT each day.

Day One

  • Session 1: The New Strategic Imperative
  • Session 2: How Advanced Technologies, COVID, and Climate Change Impact Strategy
  • Session 3: The Core of Innovation in the Organization
  • Session 4: Quantified Innovation 

Day Two

  • Session 5: Experience Centerlining: Creating-High Value Customer Experiences
  • Session 6: K-Matrix White-Space Innovation
  • Session 7: Organizational Ambidexterity and Acuity
  • Session 8: Finding New Opportunities 

Day Three

  • Session 9: Creating New Combinations & Capturing Value
  • Session 10:  Building a Robust and Resilient Business
  • Session 11: Group Project Workshop
  • Session 12: Closing Session
Who Should Attend
  • Systems engineers who need frameworks for creating system-wide solutions that produce enhanced results.   
  • Product/project managers who want to improve customer experience and create new products and/or services. 
  • Engineering managers who are looking for innovative solutions for organizational challenges.  
  • C-suite members who are responsible for consistently driving value for consumers, regardless of external circumstances.  
  • Entrepreneurs who want to capitalize on disruption and the latest technological advancements. 
  • Technical leaders who need to develop robust organizational ecosystems. 

Testimonials

“Blade and Michael introduced complementary perspectives on what breakthrough innovation means—from the user design experience to the emotional component. They helped me think more holistically about innovation.”
Eli Ford
“The amazing professors at MIT shared different ways to approach innovation—from promoting research and development to defining problems to really listening to your user base.”
Tom Ntambara
Brochure
Download the Course Brochure
 Breakthrough Innovation: Creating Value in Times of Uncertainty