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Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice (PR-INVPRAC) // Attributes, outcomes and skills
About this course
Principal Coordinator
Peter Cebon
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this course, graduates will be able to:
Innovation Management
- Overview understanding of a Human-Centred design process
- Understanding of the various elements of a human-centred design approach and at least one technique associated with each element
- Understanding of when human-centred design is an appropriate approach to innovation
- Understand the relationship between innovation and corporate strategy
Innovation Leadership
- Understand the concepts underlying the skills need to form a team, drive productivity in an ambiguous environment, and deliver authentic value.
- Understand the concepts associated with adaptive leadership, authentic leadership, and the leader as coach.
Innovation management: Vicariously learn the skills associated with human-centred design by guiding a team in the delivery of a human-centred design project. These skills include:
- Project and interview design
- Construction of an effective project brief
- Conduct of ethnographic interviews
- Ideation, along with search for lead users and other sources of innovative solutions
- Data analysis and the extraction of insights
- Translation of insights into an innovation objective
- Integration of ideas with corporate strategy
- Pitching of a final proposal
- Development of a business model
Innovation leadership: Skills associated with the delivery of a project in an ambiguous environment including:
- Creating a psychologically safe environment
- Deep listening and other modes of empathic interaction
- Project planning for innovation
- Foundations of strategic selling
- Managing and communicating in diverse environments
- Coaching
- Brainstorming and nurturing creativity
- Meeting facilitation
- Overcoming peoples' resistance to change
- Storytelling
- Generating actionable insights
- Mind-mapping and other synthesis techniques
- Dealing with conflict and providing feedback
- Presenting for impact
Personal development
- Develop skills in self-reflection and self-analysis using a reflective diary.
Effectively deliver a human-centred design project by leading a small team of Masters-level students.
Apply knowledge of innovation thinking and leadership practice to build professional networks in their chosen field.
Generic skills
- Project design
- Designing and conducting interviews
- Data analysis and the extraction of insights from data
- Translation of insights into an innovation objective
- Ideation, along with search for lead users and other sources of innovative solutions
- Integration of ideas with corporate strategy
- Development of a value proposition and business model
- Pitching proposals and presentation skills
- Creating a safe environment as a leader or manager
- Interpersonal skills such as deep listening, facilitation, coaching, conflict management, feedback and communicating in diverse and ambiguous environments
- Project planning for innovation
- Mind-mapping, brainstorming and other synthesis techniques
- Change management in leadership in innovation contexts
- Self-reflection and self-analysis
- Build professional networks in their chosen field.
Graduate attributes
The Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice will promote the further development of the attributes of the University of Melbourne's Graduates.
- Academic Excellence Across Disciplines: This Certificate promotes both academic and practical excellence, providing graduates with an integrated understanding of, and practical capability with, the theories and skills required to practice effective innovation management and innovation leadership. This tight integration of theory with practice will equip graduates to manage innovation processes and to lead teams in ambiguous project and work environments, such as those associated with innovation and change.
- Attuned to cultural diversity: Graduates of the Professional Certificate will be equipped to work in culturally, linguistically, and professionally diverse organisations. As part of the Professional Certificate, candidates will lead a culturally and linguistically diverse team of Masters-level students. Because they will be learning in a "safe to fail" environment, they will be able to experiment with a diverse palate of leadership interventions and understand how people from different cultural backgrounds respond to them. They will also collaborate with their Professional Certificate peers, who will be drawn from across the economy.
- Leadership in Communities: The Professional Certificate graduates will be able to create a safe work or team environment, engage in deep listening and modes of empathic interaction, and manage conflict. These skills, developed over the course, will enhance the graduates' existing ability to collaborate with and lead groups flexibly and with empathy and integrity.
Last updated: 12 November 2022