Life Sciences, Design & Innovation

Content

Aim of the course

This course prepares the student for the Major Innovation project, and is part of the Challenge Based Research Track. The course will help the student to work in multidisciplinary teams by providing knowledge in Biomaterials and Design and to work effectively in a company by providing knowledge in Innovation and Business.

The course will consist of the following topics:

• Material science:
  • Types of materials
  • Material properties
  • Types of material failure
  • Standardisation
  • Sustainability and material
• Sustainability frameworks
  • How are frameworks & certifications useful
  • Evaluating frameworks and certifications
  • Making frameworks and certifications nature based
• Change management & Leadership

• Systems mapping & leverage thinking
• Relational leadership & inner work
• Influence and communication strategies
• Reflexivity & adaptive learning

• Project management
  • Project manager (tasks and skills), methods, scoping, stakeholders double diamond
  • Execution, monitoring and solving

Learning goals

At the end of the course, the student is able to:
 

Material science

• Recall basic factual knowledge on material characteristics, such as terminology and calculation methods

• Apply basic factual knowledge on material characteristics in a design context

• Calculate material characteristics

• Choose material, e.g. through calculations in multi criteria assessment (Social, Planet, Economic)

Sustainability frameworks
Recall current practical frameworks (i.e. certifications) that exist within sustainability regulation

• Evaluate a selected framework that fits a specific field on its effect on sustainability

• Formulate regenerative or bio-inspired propositions based on a framework aimed at improving said framework

Change management & leadership

• Reproduce/recognize key transformative leadership styles and their corresponding skills, attitudes and intentions

• Apply change management theories and leadership approaches to analyze and design interventions in specific organizational or inter-organizational contexts

• Identify the difference between planned and unplanned change

• Conceptualize organizational and societal change from a systems thinking perspective, clearly distinguishing roles of influencing versus leading within complex adaptive systems.

• Applies different theories/techniques to identify leverage points of change

• Recall basic factual knowledge on change management theories & techniques, such as stakeholder engagement, power and its dynamics, appropriate engagement & communication strategies

• Evaluate different sustainability transitions and societal change scenarios, linking theoretical perspectives to real-world examples of long-term systemic change.

• Reflect on personal leadership growth and relational dynamics, group dynamics, to lead change effectively in complex, non-hierarchical settings

Project management

• Recall basic factual knowledge of project management

• Formulate a project design

Assessment & grading

Assessment	Topic	Weight
Exam	Material Science	40%
Exam	Change Management & Leadership and Project Management	40%
Presentation	Sustainability Frameworks	20%

 

Requirements for passing the course

• All components should be graded ≥ 5.5 in order to pass the course.
• The student should be present for at least 80% of the course
• Attendance of the lectures and workshops is mandatory.