Creating innovations: everything from idea to reality

Course Objective

In this course, you will learn how to identify problems that need solutions, generate, and develop ideas that address these problems, manage projects efficiently, protect your intellectual property, license your product, and pitch your idea to potential investors to secure funding. By the end of this course, you will have a solid understanding of the product development process and the tools and techniques needed to turn your ideas into successful products.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

Identify problems that require solutions and apply critical thinking skills to develop creative ideas that address these problems.

Apply project management techniques to effectively plan and execute product development projects, ensuring that they are completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality standards.

Understand the importance of intellectual property protection, and be able to identify and implement strategies to safeguard their ideas and inventions.

Develop an understanding of licensing agreements and how they can be used to commercialize their products and generate revenue.

Develop effective pitching skills and be able to present their ideas confidently to potential investors, customers, and other stakeholders.

Utilize a range of tools and techniques to bring their ideas to life, including brainstorming, lean business canvas, market research, and product testing.

Gain valuable skills and knowledge that can be applied to a wide range of industries and sectors, making them more attractive to employers or potential investors.

Understand the importance of teamwork and collaboration in product development, and be able to work effectively as part of a team to achieve project goals.

This course offers a combination of theoretical and practical assessments to equip students with the knowledge and skills required for product development and creating a startup. The course’s adaptability is one of its key features, allowing students to undertake it independently or in a classroom setting. In the latter scenario, students will engage in group work and, alongside theoretical and practical insights, undertake concrete innovation progress steps. Students will create one or more concrete ideas based on their technological and engineering skills, present a patent, and develop a patenting strategy. Additionally, they will pitch their business idea to the class or invited industry leaders and innovators. The course also presents opportunities for students to collaborate with companies.

Course structure details:

The course comprises five modules, each consisting of 4-5 units, with each module being worth 1 ECTS credit. The modules cover essential topics such as problem identification, idea generation and development, project management, intellectual property, and licensing, and pitching business ideas to secure funding. Every unit has separate topics. At the end of each unit, there is an activities section with self-assessment activities presented to better understand the theoretical part of a unit.

In the classroom, classes can be structured as follows: (1) a short introduction, with a follow-up from the previous class, as well as a theoretical introduction to the day’s topic; (2) the tactical part with a general understanding of what, why, and how, and finally (3) an introduction to the assignments followed by teamwork with a concrete company case if applicable. Possibilities are given to interact with companies and/or organizations based on their challenges.

Students can also complete the course independently. They just need to complete modules and assignments on the e-Learning Platform on their own.

Course coordinator:

VILNIUS TECH “LinkMenu fabrikas”, linkmenufabrikas@vilniustech.lt

Academic prerequisites:

On the level of bachelor’s degree in engineering, product design, business management or any other. No prior knowledge of business, engineering, product design or innovation is required in this course.