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Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice (PR-INVPRAC)
Professional CertificateYear: 2020 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
Principal Coordinator
Peter Cebon
Overview
Award title | Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice |
---|---|
Year & campus | 2020 — Parkville |
Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
AQF level | Non-AQF |
Credit points | 25 credit points |
Duration | 6 months part-time |
The Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice is offered to project mentors in ENGR90034 Creating Innovative Engineering (CIE) and equivalent subjects (Subject names will be added here as subjects are created). The core of these subjects involves teams of four to six students working alongside an independent mentor, or a mentor and a sponsor from a sponsoring organisation, to elaborate an innovation opportunity.
This certificate provides a unique opportunity for experienced professionals to develop the management, coaching and leadership skills required to guide innovation projects and take the next step in their careers. Over the semester, participants learn about strategic and operational considerations in generating innovative products and services. They also develop the leadership skills to guide teams that are innovating.
The two broad domains of the program– innovation and leadership for innovation -- are delivered together as one subject.
In terms of innovation management, you will learn and facilitate the application of a human-centred design approach to an innovation project. Along with your team, you will refine a project brief, design research, conduct interviews, generate insights, create a problem statement, generate proposals that respond to that problem statement and then, select, refine, hopefully test, and finally pitch a proposal. Because you will be responsible for ensuring that the team delivers a good outcome, you will find that you need to develop a solid understanding of the human-centred innovation process.
In terms of leadership, you will be in a unique position to learn how to become a great leader. Your team is likely to be ethnically and professionally very diverse. The project tasks will be well outside the prior experience of the members. Furthermore, we will not allow you to “manage” the team. That is, we will not allow you to tell them what to do. You may only use leadership behaviours such as facilitation, coaching, teaching, and so forth. However, we will give you instruction and support to create a psychologically safe environment in which you can learn. Also, by writing a weekly reflection and giving feedback to a peer on their weekly reflection, you will learn mindfully and thoughtfully about yourself as a leader.
The leadership program begins with a two-day intensive workshop in which you will learn about three fundamental innovation leadership themes: adaptive leadership, authentic leadership, and the leader as coach. Over the twelve weeks of the semester you will learn a new skill each week, the underlying theory to support that skill, and you will have a chance to apply the skill with your team that week. The twelve weeks are broken into three broad domains: forming a team, driving productivity in an ambiguous environment and delivering authentic value.
Candidates who successfully complete the Professional Certificate of Innovation Practice with a grade of 75% or greater, and who are admitted to the Master of Business Administration or the Master of Enterprise, may apply for two subjects (25 points) of credit towards that qualification.
Entry requirements
1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have:
- Completed an undergraduate degree or equivalent; or
- At least 5 years of full-time documented relevant work experience; and;
- been the nominated mentor of an approved project. The approved project will be designed for, and available to, students of Creating Innovative Engineering (ENGR90034) or equivalent.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.
2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
prior academic performance; and
documented relevant professional experience.
3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band IELTS 6.0 is required.
Notes: Only nominated mentors of a sponsoring organisation, or individual project sponsors for Creating Innovative Engineering (ENGR90034) or equivalent will be considered for entry to this course.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
Candidates must be committed to attend a minimum of 80% of sessions during the program, in order to work with their teams and the other candidates effectively. Any absences must be explained in writing to the Program Coordinator.
The Professional Certificate in Innovation Practice welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and degree policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the degree.
For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives and Generic Skills sections of this entry.
It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this course are encouraged to discuss this matter with the Student Equity and Disability Support Team: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/
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.
Course structure
The certificate is comprised of a single compulsory subject totalling 25 points. It will cover two broad subject areas, leadership of innovation teams and the management of innovation projects.
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
ENGM90017 | Innovation Practice |
Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville)
|
25 |
Last updated: 12 November 2022