About the innovation strategy capstone course:
In Spring 2011 the Engineering Management faculty will be offering a three credit-hour capstone project course for senior engineering students with a concentration in Engineering Management. Over the semester, teams of three students will work with the founders of six local seed-stage technology companies through the thinking, analysis, and planning processes needed to turn their concept into an innovation strategy that then could be executed on. This memo is to invite you to consider offering us your innovation concept as a project to tackle. If interested, please reply at your earliest convenience. The due date for submitting a project proposal is Dec. 15.
What kinds of innovations and companies would be good candidates for an innovation strategy project?
Innovation involves taking an invention or innovation concept to commercial reality. We are looking for technology entrepreneurs who are considering launching a company or have recently organized one for the purpose of commercializing an innovation concept that takes advantage of new or emerging technology. Since the student team projects do not involve the development of technology itself, we are looking for technical concepts that are for the most part developed – to the proof of concept stage or beyond. At the same time, we are looking for concepts where the business thinking (business models, business plans, marketing strategies) is at an early stage. The teams’ job is to help the entrepreneur through the thinking, experimentation, and rigorous research processes that will move the concept to the point of commercial launch, sale to an acquirer, or presentation to a new venture investor.
Who from Vanderbilt will be participating in the Innovation Strategy Project?
The students participating in the projects are carefully screened spring semester seniors who have concentrated their studies in engineering management and who have completed all the coursework requirements in the subject area. They will use the project as an opportunity to integrate and apply everything they’ve learned.
They will be guided by Vanderbilt’s Engineering Management faculty, senior people with industry experience who bring wide-ranging skill sets, including expertise in intellectual property, enterprise development, finance, manufacturing, project management, marketing, technology strategy, and organizational development.
The project teams will apply a comprehensive, systematic approach to innovation commercialization known as Accelerated Radical Innovation (ARI). The ARI methodology is based on research and development involving innovation scholars and practitioners from several institutions and countries over the past seven years. It has been applied to a variety of early-stage technologies (for more information, see http://ari-institute.com/). The projects will aid in the further refinement and validation of the methodology in diverse settings.
What is expected of participating companies and teams?
Over the course of the semester, you should expect to meet with your team weekly for about one hour at a mutually agreeable time and place (usually either the client site or a conference room at Vanderbilt). The project will proceed along the following timeline over the course of the Spring semester (Jan. 12-May 5):
· Week 0: Three-person team forms, reviews project descriptions, and selects a project.
· Week 1. ARI methodology overview for teams and clients. Initial meeting with client. Client orients team to the innovation concept, the business objectives, and the associated technology, and provides any needed background information.
· Weeks 2-3. Team confirms and quantifies the business opportunity.
· Weeks 4-8. Team applies the ARI innovation scorecard to pinpoint, analyze, and priortize challenges and hurdles to commercialization.
· Weeks 9-11. Team applies co-develops with the innovator a business plan (system-level vision, business model, and commercialization roadmap).
· Weeks 12-14. Team develops implementation plan (innovation value network, prototyping plan, and commercialization and exit strategy).
· Week 14. Final client presentation, clarification of next steps, and handoff.
Other than your time and guidance to the team, you should not incur any expenses unless you authorize them.
Next Step…
If you’re interested in proceeding, the next step is to put together a project description to enable the students to select projects in their area of interest or training. The description should include:
· A description (or vision), in general terms, of the innovation concept (what it is, how it works, its current state of development)
· Commercialization objectives for the innovation concept (target market, application)
· Key commercialization challenges (technical, market, organizational, etc.)
· Contact information: name of project leader, title, organization, phone, e-mail, website (if one exists)
· Optional: If you feel it’s important for members of the team to have any particular interest, background, or prior course work, this would be helpful to include in your description.
Deadline for submission of project descriptions: Dec. 15
Contact Information
John A. Bers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of the Practice
Engineering Management Program
http://engm.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/
Vanderbilt University School of Engineering
Featheringill Hall Room 336
P. O. Box 351518 Station B
Nashville, TN 37235 USA
Phone: (615) 343-4965; fax (615) 322-7062
E-mail: john.a.bers(at)vanderbilt.edu
