Course Description
Though technology plays a very important role in our lives, we seldom reflect
on how a technological breakthrough happens or even on how it develops.
This course is aimed at students as future technologists, the focus is on stra-
tegic thinking and the role of innovation in changing the technical landscape.
We address questions like: what makes something hot, how new technolo-
gies have developed, what makes for technology into a business success,
and how do successful technologies lead to whole new industries? This
course surveys themes like technology and society, creation of new technol-
ogy companies based on new ideas, and global competitiveness. We will
need to understand the technical basis of new developments but our objective
is to understand the global context of technology development as well.
Course Objectives
The course will develop skills in strategic thinking about technology and soci-
ety. The course will hone studentʼs presentation skills, especially in making
concise and insightful presentations on technical topics.
This course will develop information gathering, information analysis, and criti-
cal thinking skills that will prove useful in your future careers.
Students will analyze the development of the iPod / iPad and how the new
iPad/ iPhone fits within a strategy that will remake Apple and change several
industries. The hot new iPad that costs only $499 with WiFi only is a real stra-
tegic breakthrough for Apple. The focus will be on developing new applica-
tions for these tablet devices in new markets like personal health manage-
ment and personal wellness. This is also a story of
world class Innovation as driven by highly focused
teams led by super-innovators like Steve Jobs. So
this class focuses on the Innovator as the creator
of new industries, by asking: What is the innovation
process of Apple? How have they come up with
tremendous new products -Mac, iPod, iPhone and
now the iPad - that are truly game changing inno-
vations. To this end the students will start by ana-
lyzing the innovation process of Apple by a class reading of Inside Steveʼs
Brain by Leander Kahney. At the same time the students are going to be chal-
lenged to understand the booming market of applications for these new de-
vices. They will analyze applications in a specific field like gaming and deter-
mine the potential impact on the Industry of new media platforms like the
iPad. Then the students will then present their idea for a new application and
why they believe it can sell. No need for coding of the applications now, the
objective is to develop the concept for a new ap-
plication so it is very attractive to users.
new technical ideas and their impact - like solar energy systems, nano-
materials and new biomedical devices, and software
as a service.
The students are required to present a final presentation on one of the many
books in our Innovation Center library. A 20 minute presentation on the bookʼs
major ideas is required with 10 charts maximum.
Course Requirements
Meeting deadlines for presentation is of great importance in evaluating stu-
dent performance. Students are required to make four major presentations to
the class and to participate in meaningful class discussions of presentations.
In most cases, the presentations and proposals are Power Point slides (5
charts max – 5 minutes max). Not meeting deadlines will result in a significant
lowering of the high grade that students start with. The grading scheme is
based on class presentations, class participation and reaction papers. Book
presentations will be typically 20 minutes with 10 charts, students must
schedule their presentations. All presentations will be uploaded to the class
website to be considered complete (except those hot ideas we want to work
on more).