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Graduate & Executive News
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Creativity & Innovation in Robin’s Graduate & Executive Programs
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Can innovation and creativity be taught? The Robins School thinks so. Two new courses – Creativity & Innovation and Design Management have been added to the 2006 MBA and Mini MBA® curriculums to address the need for innovation in business today. As one of the first universities to offer graduate coursework in innovation, creativity, and design management, the University of Richmond is setting the standard. |
Design Management class with Peter Bernard, CEO of Bon Secours Richmond Health System, John Simpson, CEO Emeritus of Bon Secours and Jim Snyder, President of Odell Associates.
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“These classes are designed to promote a new way of thinking in business. The principles taught in design management have wide applicability, from new product development to branding and project management. In the creativity and innovation course, students learn how to build an organizational culture that generates profitable ideas on a consistent basis and learn how to make sure that the best ideas are ultimately executed,” said Richard Coughlan, Associate Dean of Graduate & Executive Education.
Today’s business marketplace thrives on competition and the ability to be nimble, to be creative, and to find new ways to be successful. Renowned books such as Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat and Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind continuously cite innovation as the key to US companies keeping their edge. Whether it is innovation in product development or in strategic partnerships, finding better, faster and cheaper ways to create new products and processes are at the core of everyone's competitive growth strategy.
Sandra Shield of Odell Associates architecture firm teaches the Design Management class. “The methodology of design thinking empowers the student to look at problem solving from a new, integrated perspective and viewpoint. Design is often the path to innovation and competitive advantage,” she said.
The premise of Design Management is that good design is good business. The goal of the course is to provide a new design viewpoint for tomorrow’s managers and leaders. MBA students in this class had the opportunity for plenty of hands-on learning. The CEOs of AMF Bowling and Bon Secours Richmond Health System co-taught class and students toured the AMF Shrader Lanes and Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center and interacted with the executive teams in round table discussions.
Creativity & Innovation is taught by professors at Play, creativity and innovation consultants who have been driving the innovation agenda for Fortune 500 companies for the past two decades. The course focuses on applying the creative mindset to the larger organization – changing cultures, and creating traditions that support the innovation agenda.
“MBA curriculums, charged with preparing tomorrow’s top business leaders, are obligated to fully prepare their students for their business futures. Creativity and innovation are skills they’ll need to lead well,” said Patty Devlin, one of the professors. “We see creativity and innovation moving from R&D and marketing departments to the C-suite. Leading businesses from a variety of industries have adopted innovation as key growth drivers,” she said. |
“Innovation is one of today’s top buzzwords. Although it’s increasingly popular to pay lip service to innovation, we are seeing companies continue to struggle with how to define innovation success and incorporate the practice of innovation in a significant and sustainable way,” Devlin said. “This is today’s main challenge – not just talking about innovation but making it happen.”
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Design Management class at AMF Sunset Lanes with Fred Hipp, CEO of AMF Bowling and Jim Snyder, President of Odell Associates.
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This year’s entering class of MBA students recently completed its Opening Residency, working in teams of five over a ten day period to analyze a live case study presented by Qimonda (formerly Infineon Technologies).
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Prior to arriving for the Opening Residency, students received a lengthy case study that included a history of the company and the industry, plus important data about Qimonda and its competitors. Teams were tasked with developing a branding campaign for the semiconductor chip manufacturer. Winners were chosen by a panel of three executives from Qimonda, who considered the analyses performed by the students and the justifications provided for the teams’ recommendations. |
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Members of the winning team included managers from Philip Morris USA, Circuit City, and Triad LC. The firm requested copies of the presentations made by all nine teams. |
Robins School Executive Education to Partner with William Byrd Community House to Educate Non-Profit Leaders
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The Robins School of Business has been selected by the William Byrd Community House to be a service partner in its Capacity Building Initiative, a community driven partnership to provide education, training and consulting to nonprofit community organizations. The goal of the initiative, funded by a $300,000 grant to the William Byrd Community House from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Compassion Capital Fund, is to improve outcomes for needy individuals and families who rely on area organizations for support.
The Robins School of Business will help increase the effectiveness of non-profit leaders across central Virginia by creating a customized leadership development program for executives from community organizations selected by the William Byrd Community House. The Robins School has already created and is delivering customized educational programs for several of Richmond’s largest employers.
The Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) inaugurated a new category of grants this year through its Communities Empowering Youth program. Under this new program, $30 million is awarded to 100 organizations to build the capacity of their coalitions, better enabling them to reduce youth violence in communities across the country. The primary purpose of CCF is to help community organizations increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services to serve those most in need, expand their organizations and create collaborations to better serve those in need.
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