Minor Innovation and Design Thinking

Coordinated by: Nicolas Bruno, Head of Pedagogy, Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurship (ICE), Université Côte d'Azur

FORMAT

Classroom (workshops)

LOCATION

Espace Vernassa, Campus Saint-Jean d'Angély, Nice

PREREQUISITES

No

CAPACITY

Variable according to the workshops

 

ABOUT THIS MINOR

Summary

​​​The course “Innovation & Design Thinking” is developed by the Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurship (ICE), of Université Côte d'Azur.

Learning Outcomes

The objective is to allow students to acquire an innovation-oriented mindset and develop different cross-disciplinary skills such as critical thinking, cross-functional collaboration, uncertainty management, and creativity. 
​ 
​Students will learn how to approach innovation challenges typically faced by companies and organizations. In addition, the course offers a first approach to the skills needed to develop an entrepreneurial project.  

​​​The topic for this Spring 2023 semester: ​Design a Solution

​Comprehensive training to design innovative, sustainable, and technological solutions. When it comes to innovation, some skills that a designer must have are the ability to understand the context and the users' needs, a good awareness of the implications related to sustainability, the capability to optimize resources, and  ​the awareness of technology’s potential.  
 
To validate the minor, the student must attend 3 workshops among the 4 proposed below. Each workshop lasts from 8 to 10 hours.​​ 

  • Design Thinking: Design thinking is an approach invented at Stanford University and currently adopted by the most innovative companies worldwide (Air Bnb, IBM, McKinsey, Apple, and many others). Design thinking takes as its premise the notion that to innovate, designers must connect with people, understand their real needs, and explore the entire context of the project with a constant attitude of inquiry.
  • AI For Business: In a world awashed with AI-based solutions, this workshop aims at increasing awareness about opportunities and criticalities related to  Artificial Intelligence. Students will receive an introduction to Machine Learning, Big data, and Automatic Natural Language Processing and analyse real business cases in order to understand how to leverage these technologies to build an innovative business opportunity.
  • Effectuation: Discover entrepreneurship through the lens of effectuation theory. This logic of thought is used to build successful businesses by imagining the world as a set of opportunities. Start with the means available to achieve affordable goals.   
  • Societal Transformation: Workshop focused on understanding today's and tomorrow's ecological and societal issues to develop sustainable, resilient solutions. Students will be introduced to tools to measure and diagnose its impact and propose impactful actions. 
Lecturers
  • Nelly Farruggia, Consultant and expert in Effectuation and ISMA 360 Method - Independent  
  • Lena Ferlderhoff, Consultant and expert in ecological and social transition - Independent 
  • Silvia Marchini, Program manager for ICE, expert in design thinking, Université Côte d’Azur 
  • Eric Guerci, Associate professor, Université Côte d’Azur
Evaluation

To complete this minor, students must attend 3 workshops. The participation of students is required in the integrality of the workshop.
An average of the 3 marks (between 0 and 20, coef. 1) greater than or equal to 10 is required to validate the minor.

SCHEDULE SPRING 2023 (updated Jan, 5)

Mind the evaluation modalities and deadlines in the "Evaluation" tab above.
PLEASE NOTE: It's not possible to take the Societal Transformation workshop and the AI For Business workshop simultaneously, as both workshops have a session on the same date.

Date

Time slot

Workshops

Lecturer

Location

16/02/2023 9h00-13h00 Design Thinking Silvia Marchini  Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
02/03/2023 9h00-12h00 Societal Transformation Lena Felderhoff  Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
09/03/2023 9h00-12h00 Societal Transformation Lena Felderhoff  Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
16/03/2023 9h00-13h00 Design Thinking Silvia Marchini  Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
23/03/2023 9h00-11h00 Societal Transformation Lena Felderhoff  Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
23/03/2023 9h00-13h00 AI for Business Eric Guerci Campus St Jean d'Angély, IAE Nice, room 2A40
30/03/2023 9h00-13h00 AI for Business Eric Guerci Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
06/04/2023 9h00-13h00 Effectuation Nelly Farruggia Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa
13/04/2023 9h00-13h00 Effectuation Nelly Farruggia Campus St Jean d'Angély, Espace Vernassa