Creativity and Innovation Laboratory - MB25203

MB25203:

Creativity and Innovation Laboratory

Course Objectives:

This course aims to enable students to understand and apply creative thinking and innovation principles in problem-solving. It blends theory and practice to cultivate the ability to generate novel ideas, visualize innovative concepts, and apply design thinking techniques. The course explores heuristic models, tools for directed creativity, and disruptive innovation frameworks. Through hands-on activities and real-world projects, learners will acquire the mindset and tools required to ideate and develop innovative products, services, or solutions in Business contexts.

Foundations of Creativity and Innovation

Importance of creative thinking in Business – Directed creativity theories – Components of creativity – Organizational and individual creativity – Innovation types – Barriers to innovation – Innovation process – Assessing creativity and innovation.

Thinking Mechanisms and Visualization Techniques

Cognitive mechanisms and heuristics – Models supporting creative thinking – Visual elements and design principles (line, form, texture, color, symmetry) – Spatial composition – Basics of computer animation – Aerodynamics - Scientific visualization and benchmarking.

Understanding Creativity and its Dimensions

Creativity components: Person, Process, Product, Environment – ICEDIP model (Inspiration, Clarification, Distillation, Perspiration, Evaluation, Incubation) – Motivation and rewards in creativity – Tools for directed creative stimulation – Applying creativity in innovation.

Creativity in Design and Problem Solving

Generating and developing ideas – Product and service design – Six Thinking Hats – Lateral Thinking – Contextual influences on creativity – Personal creativity assessment – Hands-on exercises and case-based simulations.

Innovation Tools and Methodologies

Types of innovation: Radical, Evolutionary – TRIZ methodology for inventive problem solving – Disruptive innovation and new market disruption – Strategic innovation models – Entrepreneurial tools for innovation development.

Innovation Lab – Practice-Based Project

Workshop format – Students ideate, design, and build an innovative product or service – Design Thinking framework – Prototyping – Peer review – Final presentation and evaluation by faculty panel – Focus on problem-solving, teamwork, and creativity.

Note: Students will undergo the entire programme similar to a Seminar. It is an activity-based course. Students will undergo the programme with both theoretical and practical content. Each student will be required to come out with innovative products or services. This will be evaluated by the faculty member(s) handling the course and the consolidated marks can be taken as the final mark. No end semester examination is required for this course

References:

1. Floyd Hurt, Rousing Creativity: Think New Now, Crisp Publications,

2. Geoffrey Petty, How to Be Better at Creativity, Industrial Society, 2012

3. Clayton Christensen & Michael Raynor, The Innovator’s Solution, Harvard Business School Press, 2024

4. Semyon D. Savransky, Engineering of Creativity – TRIZ, CRC Press, 2000

5. C. S. G. Krishnamacharyulu & Lalitha R., Innovation Management, Himalaya Publishing House, 2013

6. Jeanne Liedtka, Design Thinking for the Greater Good, Columbia Business School Publishing, 2017

7. Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats, Penguin (Little, Brown & Company)

Course Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 

● CO1: Demonstrate conceptual knowledge of creativity and innovation, heuristic models and visualization techniques, the components of creativity, design and problem-solving, innovation methodologies, and the practical application of design thinking in a lab setting.

● CO2: Interpret and relate the principles of creative thinking, directed creativity theories, cognitive mechanisms, the ICEDIP model, and innovation tools to understand the process of generating and developing new ideas and solutions.

● CO3: Apply heuristic models, visualization techniques, directed creative stimulation tools, and design thinking approaches to generate, develop, and prototype innovative products or services in a collaborative environment.

● CO4: Analyze the nature of creativity, cognitive mechanisms, the six thinking hats framework, and innovation methodologies like TRIZ and disruptive innovation to solve business problems and assess the potential of new ideas.

● CO5: Evaluate different creative and innovation models, design thinking approaches, and strategic innovation frameworks to assess their effectiveness in fostering innovation and addressing complex business challenges.

● CO6: Develop a comprehensive innovation project by integrating knowledge of creativity fundamentals, design thinking, innovation tools, and collaborative lab activities to create and present a viable and innovative product or service.