2015 Faculty in Residence

Rashmi Assudani, Ph.D.

MGMT/ENTR 305 Creativity and Innovation

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

ENTR 305 is a course about new business development in existing organizations or for an independent new venture. It is about the quest for ideas that lead to new product, service or process, and about examining the feasibility of these innovations. Content of this course examines: (1) attitudes and behaviors of entrepreneurs and/or intrapreneurs, (2) their innovative potential, (3) types of innovation, (4) process of identifying an unmet need and creating ideas/solution, and (5) road testing and gauging the feasibility of ideas/solutions.

Dr. Assudani's description of her focus for this course and the pedagogical innovations she showcased as the CTE Faculty-in-Residence:

"Learning" creativity and innovation is skill based, and is akin to "learning" swimming. Both these require "how to learn." Following this premise, my pedagogy strongly relies on active learning, reflection and debriefs. Therefore, in my ENTR/MGMT 305 syllabus, I state that "THIS IS NOT A TRADITIONAL LECTURE BASED COURSE. The class focuses on individual contributions and team participation. Your peers and I expect you to have read the material, attend the class and play an active role in class discussions. Therefore, the key to maximize your learning in the course is to learn through reflection and active participation. Your serious commitment of time outside of class is also expected for the success of the course as also for your learning."