Course syllabus adopted 2021-02-26 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).
Overview
- Swedish nameForskning, innovation och entreprenörskap
- CodeTIF181
- Credits7.5 Credits
- OwnerMPPHS
- Education cycleSecond-cycle
- Main field of studyEngineering Physics
- DepartmentPHYSICS
- GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Course round 1
- Teaching language English
- Application code 85137
- Maximum participants40
- Block schedule
- Open for exchange studentsNo
Credit distribution
Module | Sp1 | Sp2 | Sp3 | Sp4 | Summer | Not Sp | Examination dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0118 Project 7.5 c Grading: TH | 7.5 c |
In programmes
- MPCAS - COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
- MPCAS - COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
- MPNAT - NANOTECHNOLOGY, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
- MPNAT - NANOTECHNOLOGY, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
- MPPHS - PHYSICS, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
- MPPHS - PHYSICS, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
- MPSYS - SYSTEMS, CONTROL AND MECHATRONICS, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
Examiner
Christoph Langhammer- Full Professor, Chemical Physics, Physics
Eligibility
General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Course specific prerequisites
Fulfilled the first three years of education at chalmers or equivalent education.Aim
The aim of the course is to present the entrepreneurship and project management as the knowledge of relevance in the development of commercial products and services. As a student, you will increase their understanding of the innovation transfer, in particular the patenting process, your ability to find information in patent databases and get knowledge about how patents are written and evaluated. As a student, you will be trained in the art of transferring the potential value and impact of the innovation to the working business or how to present innovations for the society. As a student, you will also get familiarized with the concepts of project management in order to understand how professional project managers work. The course also aims to help students to understand the prevailing challenges of project management, and to deal with them, by means of the theories of organizational learning.Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
The aim of this course is to present and discuss the important interplay between scientific innovation, communication, entrepreneurship and project management for the development of innovative products and processes that create impact in our society. Specifically, you will get acquainted with invention identification and strategies to transfer innovation to the society, and with the patent writing and evaluation process, as well as train your abilities to find information in patent and scientific literature databases. Furthermore, you will discuss the art of transferring the potential value of an invention into a working business on the basis of recent real examples and of your own project work. Finally, you will also get familiarized with the key concepts of project management, and apply the gained insights in project tasks aiding your abilities to communicate innovations to different stakeholders (e.g. investors, general public, etc.) in the society.The specific learning objectives are:
- Find information in both patent and literature databases.
- Analyze the content of patents and compare it with the content of related scientific articles, and vice versa, identify how inventions presented in scientific articles are translated into patents.
- Understand and apply the basics in patent writing and the requirement for getting a patent accepted.
- Understand the basics of project management and its challenges, as well as get some hands-on experience with applying elements of project management in your own project group work.
- Communicate an invention to different stakeholders in society and write a popular science text.
- Understand the interplay and connected challenges between invention and entrepreneurship, that is, how to transform an invention into a useful product for society.
Content
The course is divided into three modules, each comprising lectures on topics relevant for the respective module, and a project group work that builds on the skills conveyed during the lectures. Module M1 is focused on the invention and innovation process as such, addressing questions like "what is an invention" and the interplay between research and entrepreneurship when creating an innovation that might have impact on society. Specifically, it will give hands-on experience with patent and literature databases, knowledge regarding how an invention is defined and with how patents are written and composed and how an innovation can be communicated effectively to stakeholders. As part of this module you will work on a project in groups (project "Invention Identification") with the main aim to identify an invention in a very recent high-profile scientific publication and to communicate this invention to the class in "pitch" format. You will also hand in two written reports: Report R1 "Research Article Selection, and Report R2 "Project Invention Identification". Module M2 is focused on generating your own inventions based on the first project work, and on project management when planning an innovation process both in theory and practice. It is centered on a second project ("Innovation Generation and Entrepreneurship") to be carried out in "supergroups" created by merging several teams from the first project. The result of the project is to be presented by the whole group to all students of the course. You will also hand in two written reports: Report R3 "Short Action Plan", and Report R4 "Innovation Generation and Entrepreneurship". The general setup of the project work aims at giving you hands-on experience with mastering project management. Bonus Module M3 is giving you the opportunity to improve your grade to 4 or 5. To do that you are expected to write a popular science text of about 500 words, in which you communicate the outcome of one of the projects (M1 or M2) to a specific target group of your own choice, such as for example business angles, investors, the general public or school children. Support by teachers: To support you during your project works, for each project your group must book 1-2 appointments with one of the examiners to discuss the task as such, as well as the content of the scientific articles (project 1) and of your invention and business idea (project 2). More information and time slots for consultancy will be given at course start and posted on the course web-page.Organisation
The course id based on ca. two lectures per week and two group projects. The main deliverable of the first project work (hand-in) is a written report and a short pitch, and the main deliverable of the second one is a written report and an oral group presentation.Literature
HandoutsExamination including compulsory elements
Written reports and oral presentations based on project work in groups.The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.