Product Innovation in the Age of AI

Research and development departments and executives are under constant pressure to innovate faster and more creatively than their competition. What creative thinkers may not realize is that great ideas aren’t born out of the thin air in a closed office. Contextualization and collaboration are crucial. Plus, there are specific methods and tools (including AI-powered solutions) professionals can use to augment their product innovation efforts.

MIT has a unique benefit in its location in Kendall Square in Cambridge, the most innovative square mile on the planet. The concentration of academic institutions, startups, and titans of technology, pharmaceuticals, and medicine makes MIT the perfect home base from which to learn from the world’s leading thinkers. Field trips outside the classroom across the MIT campus and to Massachusetts General Hospital and nearby startups will put innovation in the context of history and demonstrate society’s influence on idea generation.

Tours, lectures, and hands-on workshops aimed at developing toolkits and using machine learning and AI as well as networking with accomplished classmates and faculty will get you ready for scouting and scaling new opportunities. Product Innovation in the Age of AI will equip professionals with the practical skills and scientific methods they need to level up their creative thinking.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Apply the “lead user” process and “pyramid networking” technique to form new and better ideas compared to traditional, customer-input idea generation
• Power your innovation with artificial intelligence to scout for innovation opportunities and test your ideas
• Leverage machine learning to scale your innovations
• Integrate historical and societal influences into your innovation processes, resulting in well-rounded and diverse ideas
• Gather inspiration from guest speakers, celebrated entrepreneurs, technologists, and MIT faculty to drive your next great idea

This course is designed for participants who have a bachelor’s degree (at a minimum) and three years professional experience. The professionals who will benefit most from the program include:

• Engineering and technical leads seeking tools and techniques to improve every phase of the innovation process, from idea conception to design and testing
• Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs keen on networking with accomplished peers and learning from the real-world experience of innovation experts
• Project managers hoping to speed and streamline their product innovation timelines and pipelines
• Directors of Research and Development seeking practical methods to develop and test novel products and services
• Directors of Innovation looking to energize their corporate innovation perspectives and processes with new ways of looking at common challenges
• C-level executives of small- to medium-sized companies tasked with exploring AI tools to identify business opportunities