An innovative course I teach at the undergraduate level and new for the Else School of Management, New Product Development, offers seniors a semester of experiential learning. The purpose of the course is to encourage entrepreneurial talent and to develop an understanding of the rewards, disappointments and the hard work involved in new product development. The course uses a small group approach, and it calls for a strong creative contribution to enhance and encourage individual and collaborative problem-solving with creative and practical applications. Each group selects one idea or innovation and takes it through the process of developing and executing its idea. As in the business world, their work is compared against the competition, in this case their classmates, to determine who did the best job.
All grades are then related to the best in the class.
Since the general purpose and structure of the course is unique, students often experience anxiety. This response is understandable and must be successfully coped with as a necessary part of the class. My goal is to provide an environment that nurtures open inquiry and critical thinking and reasoning. Exposure to the real world is a common aspect of MBA instruction. Projects involve learning how to identify business opportunities and capitalize on these opportunities by developing a sustainable and profitable revenue stream into the firm.