teaching innovation-on-demand in an undergraduate information technology program
Innovative Problem Solving is a methodology for developing incremental improvements, or innovations, for any type of system. IPS represents a powerful critical and alternative thinking skill we wish to instill in every graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Information Management & Systems program at the University of South Carolina Upstate. A new three credit hour course teaching IPS, called SIMS 307: Systematic Innovation, has been added as a required course at the sophomore level. Some of the course material was adapted from an existing professional training class historically taught to post-baccalaureate working professionals with an average age of 35. Adapting the course for students with an average age of 20, very little professional experience, and only one year of college education has required much effort. This paper describes IPS and some of the challenges overcome in designing and delivering the course.
innovation inventive problem solving lateral thinking