Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach

This programme is currently full for our November dates. Please do take a look at our other available start dates for the programme. 

Programme Overview

• Imperial Innovation: A Design Thinking Approach programme is a four-day course that guides participants towards becoming champions of innovation within their organisations. The programme delivers hands-on learning experiences that will give participants the mindset and practical tools to develop business ideas into commercial propositions.

Business ideas, design thinking & innovation

• Participants will emerge with a solid understanding of how to be entrepreneurial within their organisations and inspire innovation from others. This management course will help maintain and grow innovative thinking within business; it will help attendees deal with the complexities of change in uncertain times; it will improve methods for creative thinking which will benefit product & service delivery design; and as well as help the attendees succeed in their own role it will help move business forward thanks to an understanding of corporate innovation and a new found thinking for the design of strategy in business.

Who should attend?

• These innovation courses are London-based or online and suitable for mid to senior-level managers who want to increase their innovation capabilities and inspire intrapreneurship from their teams. Your programme peers will come from a broad range of sectors and diverse nationalities to develop innovations in products, services and processes. No technical background is required. 

Learning Objectives

• Immerse participants in an innovation experience through an experiential journey which includes intensive workshops
• Provide participants with applicable design thinking and innovation tools
• Allow participants to network across organisational silos
• Learn to identify new business opportunities, craft a story around the opportunity, build the right business model around the innovation, navigate the organisational context and negotiate for internal resources

Learning Journey
Day 1

Introduction and Overview & Disruption, Innovation and Uncertainty
Anu Wadhwa and David Brown

Anu will give an introduction to what innovation is and why it matters. She will discuss the nature of uncertainty facing firms and the rapid pace of change which together have significant implications for firms’ innovation strategy and competitive advantage. You will learn about different types of innovation, the challenges they present for incumbent firms, and how firms can overcome these challenges.

An Introduction to Design Thinking
Ileana Stigliani

Design Thinking is a human-centred approach for solving complex problems and identifying opportunities to innovate. You will learn how to apply it to solve your challenges and see how this approach can help you innovate even in difficult environments. In this core part of the programme you will look at four key phases that will help you frame and understand how design thinking can drive innovation in your organisation.

• Discover: Taking a deep dive into the user’s world 
• Define: Interpreting data and synthesising insights 
• Develop: Generating ideas through critical and lateral thinking 
• Deliver: Surfacing assumptions and testing solutions 

Design Thinking Discover Phase

• Ileana Stigliani
• Field Work
• Ileana Stigliani
• Wrap up and welcome drinks

Day 2

• Design Thinking Define Phase
• Ileana Stigliani
• Design Thinking Design Phase

Day 3

• Design Thinking Deliver Phase and final presentations
• Ileana Stigliani
• Responses to Uncertainty
• Anu Wadhwa
• Thinking disruptively about Corporate Innovation
• Bart Clarysse

Day 4

Thinking disruptively about Corporate Innovation

Bart Clarysse

• In this session, you will discuss why innovation matters particularly when it disrupts industries. Bart will engage you in thinking about different types of innovation – technology-driven, business model-driven, and user-driven – and the challenges each type presents for firms.
• Leading and Working with People for Innovation
• Sankalp Chatuverdi
• 30 minute Programme Close
• Anu Wadhwa