London Business Experience - Design Thinking Module

Course Description: The first aim of the course is to give students an appreciation for leading-edge thinking and practice in innovation. Much of this is about working experientially with users, applying “design” thinking to existing products and services, and prototyping rapidly. The second aim of the course is to take a broader view of innovation than we usually would at a Business School, and consider a range of social challenges that would benefit from being tackled using the principles of innovation.

In the first session, the students visit the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), a London’s first purpose-built incubator and accelerator for hardware-focused startups. The Central Research Laboratory (CRL) is London’s first purpose-built incubator and accelerator for hardware-focused startups. Its location, the Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes, West London, was once the heart of EMI’s research and manufacturing operation, not only making the Beatle’s and Rolling Stones’ records but CAT scanners and airborne radar also. These days the CRL is working to build a support infrastructure for 21st century hardware startups working on everything from Internet of Things, robotics, health, care and education products and more.

In the second session, we overview the lessons leaarn during the first session and explore the broader issue of how managers can design organizations to be more innovative.