By the end of this course, students will have a good understanding of the process of product development and innovation and thus:
• Know where and how to find ideas for innovation
• Understand the differences between product innovation and business model innovation
• Have a toolbox for analysing and shaping a strategy for innovation
• Understand different types of organisation to promote innovation
• Have a deeper understanding of how to improve the productivity of Research and Development
• Improve the process of development of new products and services in order to gain time and improve the quality of the end product
• Understand the challenges of managing projects that face a lot of uncertainty
• Understand how to manage in networks of companies that together provide an innovation
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Analyze the power and impact of global and local challenges related to digital disruption and demographic change on business and society in general;
• Explain the importance of collaborative transformative leadership in addressing some of these complex issues head on in an integrated, interdisciplinary and novel manner, bringing about transformational, out-of-the box solutions;
• Appreciate what it takes in terms of design thinking to propose user-centred solutions, that create real value for stakeholders of participating client organizations;
• Articulate how selected leadership concepts such as transformational, collaborative leadership approaches can propel innovative problem solutions;
• Reflect effectively about their own leadership outlook and the acquisition of 21th century skills such as collaborative intelligence, through impactful and innovative SMU-X projects.
The overall objective of this module is to equip students with core knowledge of appreciating what it takes to plan, design, build and sustain (mega) cities that are innovative and sustainable and to know the challenges of successfully ‘selling’ new smart city concepts amidst increasing competition in this field.
By the end of this course, students will be able to appreciate the following 4 areas:
Taxonomy of Innovative & Sustainable Cities
• Describe the core characteristics of a Smart City and respective concepts
• Explain the unique characteristics of each component and how it adds value to innovative and sustainable (smart) cities
Design of Innovative & Sustainable Cities
• Understand the planning and design principles of Innovative & Sustainable Cities
• Explain the workings of each component of Innovative & Sustainable Cities In-depth study of selected (Mega) Cities
• Be familiar with the challenges of selected mega cities around the globe and understand how the smart city concept can add value in terms of livability
Commercialisation of the Smart City Concept
• Appreciate the challenges in successfully commercializing smart city concepts and applications
• Know some of the key players in the Singapore context which are involved in this service sector and establish network contacts
Note: Central to this course is a SMU-X group project that takes the form of an action-based and experiential
assignment, where student groups work with a partner organization with the aim of achieving innovative solutions
for the organization. Based on this experiential learning, students will gain acquire practical Smart City-related
competencies.
By the end of this course, students will be able to do the following:
Leadership:
• Appreciate the value of experience and action-based learning that integrates understanding of major leadership paradigms and leadership theories from an inter-disciplinary perspective
• Engage analytical, problem-solving & reasoning skills to critically appraise various theories and perspectives of leadership
• Apply the various leadership traits and behavior as well as different leadership style such as charismatic & transformational leadership, principles of stewardship & servant leadership, collaborative, authentic leadership and other such recent leadership approaches in a VUCA world
• Appreciate being open-minded & sensitive to individual differences and embrace uncertainties
• Understand how leaders can set or influence the ethical tone by applying Kohlberg’s model of moral development
• Learn more about leadership through their group project work, class activities, readings, etc.
Teams and Groups:
• Understand major theories and perspectives of group dynamics and group leadership
• Learn more about teamwork processes through working on a real-life group project with an industry or community partner
• Throughout the group project students will learn to collaborate and employ innovative skills in using their expertise, knowledge to contribute to the needs of the partnering industry or community based organization
• Understand different methods of communication and appreciate how to effectively communicate and manage conflict, if any, and learn to overcome challenges within their respective group as well as with their respective external stakeholders
• Develop a detailed work schedule and strategies among teams, and understand how to form, lead and manage work teams
• Acquire some level of resilience through self-directed and group-directed learning that includes embracing uncertainties, overcoming challenges, etc.
Academic and Professional Capabilities:
• Understand and gain qualitative fieldwork skills such as how to conduct interviews and carry out a needs analysis or survey in an ethical manner
• Formalizing report writing with integrity and honesty
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Understand the implications of the Internet, mobile and information technological advances on the traditional dynamics of business, commerce and marketing and their impact on product, pricing, distribution channels and on advertising
• Understand the differences and similarities in online consumer behaviour with respect to traditional offline consumer behaviour and how increasing consumer control is changing the marketing landscape
• Understand state of the art academic research in the area of digital marketing, and how it can be practically applied in the Internet and mobile worlds
• Analyse and assess technological advances in digital media and how they affect our decisions as Marketing Managers
• Formulate and persuasively communicate rigorous and practical solutions to commonly faced online marketing problems across industries
• Understand how to integrate online marketing into an overall marketing strategy
• Understand commonly used quantitative techniques to evaluate digital marketing Return on Investment (ROI) for various online customer acquisition tools (e.g. paid search and SEO) and engagement channels (e.g. social media) to best engage with target audiences and achieve your marketing objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the key concepts in Strategic Management in Digital Media and Entertainment E-Commerce Ecosystem (DMEEE).
• Identify key learning and experiences from the real-life strategic business challenge proposed by Mediacorp.
• Explain how changes in the DMEEE could lead to new high-growth opportunities for Singapore.
• Explain how the differences in the consumer consumption of digital media, entertainment and e-commerce for Asians and non-Asians will impact the digital strategy in DMEEE
• Identify and analyze potential strategic business opportunities in Asia.
• Develop an innovative digital strategy to compete in DMEEE in Asia
Students will be trained in Six Sigma to the level of Greenbelt and will achieve certification of their Green Belt
status by SMU. After taking this course, students will achieve the following learning outcomes (LOs).
Be able to:
• LO1: Answer questions about Lean and Six Sigma approaches to process improvement, including DMAIC (Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control), related change and project management, as well as organizational deployment
• LO2: Analyze and solve problems in the context of process improvement
• LO3: Collaborate effectively with team and client to manage process improvement projects
• LO4: Communicate effectively in the context of process improvement
• LO5: Plan and act for personal growth and development
• LO6: Persevere and recover quickly in the face of disruptions and challenges
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Formulate a clear-cut description of the problem a client wishes to address
• Frame the problem, break it down into sub-problems, and identify interdependencies
• Analyse the formulated problem by using an appropriate problem-solving approach
• Present and communicate their results to the clients
• Work in a multi-national and/or multi-cultural team, appreciating specific strength of each team member
• Interact with corporate representatives on a professional level
• Prepare a proposal that persuades a potential client to adopt it
• Understand how consultants use their expertise to win engagements
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Formulate a clear-cut description of the problem a client wishes to address
• Frame the problem, break it down into sub-problems, and identify interdependencies
• Analyse the formulated problem by using an appropriate problem-solving approach
• Present and communicate their results to the clients
• Work in a multi-national and/or multi-cultural team, appreciating specific strength of each team member
• Interact with corporate representatives on a professional level
• Prepare a proposal that persuades a potential client to adopt it
• Understand how consultants use their expertise to win engagements
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Explain and examine the idea generation processes involved in new product development.
• Create and evaluate new ideas that tap into market opportunities.
• Create, analyse, and evaluate the financial potential and risk of their ideas.
• Develop a flair for effectively presenting their ideas.
