Innovation and Technology

Innovations lack novelty as they emerge. They begin with resources that already exist. We only deem them innovations in hindsight, without regard for the active, nonlinear process—full of twists and turns, challenges and progress—that scales them up to real-world impact. The innovations we celebrate today are the end product of incredible effort, but also—or more importantly, as some may argue—of productive setbacks and persistence, all of which originate from a simple hunch.

The challenge is to scale it up.

With MIT Professional Education’s online course “ Innovation and Technology,” you will discover how to do so.

You will discover the advantages of converting challenges into opportunities and work to move forward in your innovation processes. Other learning outcomes include: 

• Delve into hunches: what they look like and their central role in solving real-world problems
• Examine the solvable, recognizable, and verifiable attributes of real-world problems in order to devise solutions for them
• Engage in a process of critical thinking to prototype and scale up your problem
• Develop a kit for innovating, incorporating the strategies and tools needed to transform hunches into real-world impact
• Work with strategies for scoping out a space of opportunity
• Address significant problems with limited resources by bringing them down to table scale
• Discover how to secure the tangible and non-tangible resources needed to scale up your work
• Explore how to collect and use data and information appropriately and to your advantage to write a final technology-problem report

Innovating is a cornerstone of business. In this cross-sectional program, professionals from any industry, business model, or position in an organization will benefit from the tools, skills, and knowledge on offer. This program is aimed at professionals with an enthusiasm for innovating, including:

• C-suite and managers undergoing transformative processes in which innovation is central to success. 
• Entrepreneurs of tech start-ups with innovative aspirations. 
• Technical experts with a strong interest in technology and innovation. 
• Professionals across all industries on the path to discovering how to truly innovate in their businesses.