Socioeconomic and cultural solutions

Socio-economic and cultural solutions are about specifying/making tangible your value creation into the most appropriate social solutions that can make an impact and matter to people!  

Bachelor - Introductory courses

0SV10 Sustainable technology in society: introduction – 5 ECTS – Q2

This course introduces students to basic concepts and theories of the interweavement of technology and society and the challenges this interweavement brings to sustainable innovation processes. In order to increase student’s awareness of this interweavement, the course focuses on a set of real-life innovation cases. Combining lectures, readings, and group discussions in group assignments, students will gain hands-on experience on how they can apply these concepts and theories in their reflections on specific sustainable innovation cases. Through this application, they will gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of society and sustainable innovation.

Master

1ZM65 System dynamics – 5 ECTS – Q3

In the first lectures of the course we will deal with a variety of subjects related to systems thinking, like: policy resistance, positive and negative feedback, bounded rationality, misperceptions of feedback, fundamental modes of dynamic behavior (exponential growth, oscillation) and causal loop diagramming. Then, we will focus on system dynamics modeling, by dealing with stocks and flows diagramming, the mathematical relation between stocks and flows (integration and differentiation), delays, modeling human behavior and modeling supply chains.

1ZM170 Innovation & entrepreneurship study – 7.5 ECTS – Q1

Introduction to concepts for sustainable business modelling, such as customer discovery and validation, minimum viable product, design thinking, business modelling, sales strategy, operations, financial forecasting, and sustainability impact. Introduction to business modelling tools such as business model canvas, customer journey, empathy map, business model metrics, value network. In the following step a business plan will be developed in terms of time and activities to implement it.

PhD/PDEng

PDSHA120 Innovation Space Bootcamp: Developing an entrepreneurial mindset to deal with uncertainty in innovation processes – 1.5 ECTS

Are you interested in challenging your skills in a crash course that really pushes you out of your comfort zone and gives you the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset? Are you curious what you can achieve in one week while working on real world (societal) challenge? Would you like to experience creative thinking under pressure in a team of people with different backgrounds?
If your answer is three times yes, then this is a course for you!
You will learn how to work on a complex and innovative societal challenge in collaboration with an interdisciplinary group of trainees and companies in the inspiring environment of TU/e innovation Space. The challenges you will work on are offered by challenge owners from a partner organization together with TU/e innovation Space.
In one intensive week, you further develop your skills in an interactive way, get to know how to validate your idea and how to start working on a real problem. During the project, you will interact with the relevant industrial and institutional stakeholders. Interaction with business and societal organizations as well as involvement of real users, constitute an important element of the course.