BEX5413 · Technology and innovation for start-ups

Overview

Technology, increasingly impacts upon life in both measurable and immeasurable ways. Without it, life as we know would be a very different and most probably, rather stark experience. Innovation is often explicitly and implicitly bound with technology as knowledge and the way we use knowledge drives rapid advances that can both add to our lives but also at times result in unforeseen implications. This unit examines technology and innovation from a human-centred perspective providing a broad overview of the technology landscape and how this drives innovation that impacts on human lives and by consequence, all life. Technological advances can enable economic growth and diversity and this course, in a practical manner, will highlight how technology can be leveraged in transforming nascent concepts into commercial realities. The unit adopts a design-driven innovation perspective and demonstrates how a human-centred lens is applied when developing new products, services and technologies. Philosophically, nascent innovators will be challenged in this unit to test and validate (in an applied sense), appropriate technology for different types of innovations that may either underpin a start-up or facilitate more optimal and efficient operations of one. This unit will also focus on the architecture that supports technology and how this relates to the start-up journey and achieving profitability. You will be exposed to the most current emerging deep technologies including AI, IoT, machine learning and bots but also not overlook less ‘glamorous’ tech where scope still exists for considerable innovation. This will allow you to more comprehensively explore the interplay between innovation, technology, and delivery to market.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. develop a broad understanding of the role of technology and innovation in launching and growing viable start-ups
2. be able to effectively and critically explore problem spaces
3. become competent in testing and validating the commercial viability of new technologies or new applications of existing technologies
4. design and carry out end-user customer experiments
5. pitch to and convince an audience of the desirability, feasibility and viability of an innovation
6. effectively manage client and stakeholder relationships.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. You are expected to complete all pre-class activities prior to your scheduled class, and post-class activities should be completed after your scheduled class. Learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed, peer directed and online engagement activities. This unit is a practice-based unit with active engagement throughout the semester with industry ranging from large tech giants to agile startups making their way, comprising the following learning activities. We navigate a series of essential technologies that will shape our future ranging from IoT, Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printing and BlockChain. Industry experts in each field will join us as teams try to identify problems they would like to solve with their defined technology. Each week an industry expert or startup founder will address the groups to enable more significant real-life insights into each technology offering, deploying an investigative framework for understanding technology and how it may be deployed to solve ‘wicked’ problems. Weekly workshops guide the teams through the technology and user dimensions of value creation, building and testing prototypes, presenting to the industry their progress and culminating in a final pitch evening. These workshops help you navigate complex, ambiguous problems and the importance of customer engagement and iteration. In between the weekly workshops, teams have access to a raft of coaches across technology and design thinking expertise to assist them in iterating and evolving their innovation, in a startup setting. It is expected teams will work on their innovation an additional 9-12 hours per week outside the weekly 3-hour workshop. Independent work requirements for teams may include associated readings, assessment, out of class activities and preparation for scheduled sessions.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.