Creativity and Innovation (PCIX-SHU)

We hear every day about the importance of creativity in our lives, careers, and societies --- its importance for personal development, for the generation of new ideas, forms, and expressions, for the work of organizations, large or small in scale, science and technology or arts and culture-focused, in the private or public sector. And yet, it is important to ask: Can creativity be usefully studied or is it, in fact, something best left to life, luck, or other factors that may determine one’s abilities and opportunities in this area? The premise of this course is that, while not taking away from what can be called the magical aspect of creativity, we can benefit from considering creativity in some detail. Another premise of the course is that there is merit in considering creativity across very different areas of human enterprise --- science, art, business, government, and more. Implicit in this premise is the assumption that while creativity is manifested in many different ways, there are some common characteristics of creative work which we can identify and put into practice. A detailed consideration of creativity across various areas of human enterprise is the subject matter of this course. Pre-requisties: None. Fulfillment: Business & Finance Major Non-Finance Elective, Business & Marketing Major Non-Marketing Elective, IMA Major Elective, IMB Major IMA/Business Elective.

Experience Studio engages students in an immersive learning experience that brings them outside the classroom and into the community. This project-based course provides an opportunity for students to learn about experience design in practice. They will (1) engage in field experience with a community partner, exploring the theoretical and practical underpinnings of experience design through readings, guest talks, field trips, and reflective practice. Drawing from their field research learnings, students (2) produce a project that addresses a real-world challenge, through processes such as rapid prototyping, user testing, and customer research (informed by skills and insights from the initial experience). This course can be taken repeatedly as it will be offered by different instructors in collaboration with different course partners each semester. For the upcoming semester’s offerings, please visit: https://creativityandinnovation.shanghai.nyu.edu/experience-studio Prerequisite: None Fulfillment: IMB IMA/IMB elective; Creativity+Innovation Minor.

This course is about designing your life. What if you used the same innovation principles that startups use and applied them to your own lives? Students are introduced to design thinking as a framework to process their college experience and explore life after graduation. This course will use rapid prototyping methods to test out career interests, engage in behavior design, and ideate on multiple futures. The course will be delivered in a studio setup with in-class design workshops, group discussions, personal reflection, individual coaching and field trips. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: IMB major IMA/IMB elective.

Design Thinking is a theoretical, methodological and practical framework that has the potential of bringing about socially responsible innovation. This course will introduce the core concepts and toolkits of design thinking as the foundation of innovative thinking and practices. It requires you to step out of your comfort zone and to examine and challenge your own assumptions. Critical thinking, teamwork, and empathy are the three pillars of this course. Prerequisite: None Fulfillment: IMA Major Electives; IMB Major Business Elective/Interactive Media Elective, IMB Emerging Media Foundation; Business and Finance Major Non-Finance Electives; Business and Marketing Major Non-Marketing Electives; Creativity+Innovation Minor.

Communication sits at the core of all human interactions and is highly valued in workplaces. Beyond the minimal goal of articulating and presenting one’s ideas effectively, communication also involves building empathy, cultivating an eye for detail, developing awareness of goals and contexts, and integrating critical and reflective thinking. How can we communicate our own projects to different audiences? Why should other people care? What types of media can we use and how do we know they are effective? How can collaborative and participatory elements help to improve engagement levels? This course aims to guide students to review and create their own learning profiles as they learn to engage a diverse range of targeted audience. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: IMA elective; IMB IMA/IMB elective; IMB Emerging Media Foundation.

This practical, hands-on course will explore questions such as: How can we design engaging, creative learning experiences that are relevant to the cultural goals and needs of today's youth in China, while laying the foundation for creative learning for the workforce of tomorrow? What are engaging, effective creative learning resources, and how are they best implemented in Chinese learning settings? How can we take advantage of young people's near ubiquitous love of the arts to facilitate creative learning?’ In this course, students will work in teams to design digital learning resources and experience designs at the intersection of music, coding, arts, and technology. The course will begin with an introduction to emerging trends in learner engagement and design-based research, especially related to web- and mobile-based musical experiences and principles of making music with new media. Innovations in and applications of musical interaction, interactive technologies, user-centered design & engagement, scaffolded learning, creative learning, pedagogies of play and making, and educational entrepreneurship will also be explored. Students will work together in teams and paired with a partner audience of learners and teachers in Shanghai drawn from local and regional international schools, ed-tech startups, and cultural partners. Together they will assess the needs and opportunities of partner students and teachers, and engage in a two-stage iterative, reflective co-design process prototyping custom learning resources and experience designs with their partner end users. At the end of the course, students will present and demo their learning resources as part of a public showcase to an external audience of partners, educators, technologists, musicians, entrepreneurs, and experience designers in Shanghai. Prerequisites: None. Fulfillment: IMA elective; IMB IMA/IMB elective; Creativity+Innovation Minor.

This‌ ‌practical‌ ‌course‌ ‌will‌ ‌‌introduce‌‌ ‌students‌ ‌with‌ ‌ideas‌ ‌and‌ ‌frameworks‌ ‌to‌ ‌quickly‌ ‌test,‌ ‌iterate‌‌ and‌ ‌validate‌ ‌start-up‌ ‌business‌ ‌ideas.‌ ‌The‌ ‌course‌ ‌will‌ ‌explore‌ ‌questions‌ ‌such‌ ‌as:‌ ‌How‌ ‌can‌ ‌we‌‌ validate‌ ‌an‌ ‌opportunity?‌ ‌What‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌“value‌ ‌proposition”‌ ‌and‌ ‌how‌ ‌critical‌ ‌is‌ ‌it?‌ ‌What‌ ‌are‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌‌ popular‌ ‌business‌ ‌models‌ ‌and‌ ‌can‌ ‌new‌ ‌ones‌ ‌be‌ ‌invented?‌ ‌Why‌ ‌are‌ ‌investors‌ ‌constantly‌ ‌looking‌‌ for‌ ‌“Product‌ ‌Market‌ ‌Fit”?‌ ‌Why‌ ‌do‌ ‌“Customer‌ ‌Cost‌ ‌of‌ ‌Acquisition”‌ ‌and‌ ‌“Lifetime‌ ‌Value”‌ ‌matter?‌ ‌The‌ ‌course‌ ‌will‌ ‌also‌ ‌provide‌ ‌an‌ ‌opportunity‌ ‌to‌ ‌apply‌ ‌these‌ ‌newly‌ ‌learned‌ ‌methodologies‌ ‌with‌‌ one ‌project.‌ ‌For‌ ‌this ‌projects ‌students‌ ‌will‌ ‌work‌ ‌in‌ ‌teams‌ ‌of‌ ‌two‌ ‌to‌ ‌three ‌students.‌ ‌For‌ their projects,‌ ‌teams‌ ‌will‌ ‌be‌ ‌experimenting‌ ‌with‌ ‌customers’‌ ‌feedback,‌ ‌iterating‌ ‌business‌ ‌propositions‌‌ and‌ ‌identifying‌ ‌key‌ ‌traction‌ ‌factors.‌ At‌ ‌the‌ ‌end‌ ‌of‌ ‌their ‌projects,‌ ‌students‌ ‌will‌ ‌present‌ ‌and‌ ‌demo‌‌ their‌ ‌business‌ ‌idea‌ ‌to‌ ‌their‌ ‌peers‌ ‌and‌ ‌an‌ ‌external‌ ‌audience‌ ‌of‌ ‌entrepreneurs/‌ ‌business‌‌ managers‌ ‌in‌ ‌Shanghai.‌‌ Prerequisite:‌ ‌Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: IMB Major Business Elective or IMB major IMA/IMB Elective; Business and Finance Major Non-Finance Electives; Business and Marketing Major Non-Marketing Electives; Creativity+Innovation Minor.

How can learning be designed to be meaningful and transformative? This is an advanced-level course that explores the pedagogical approaches and key theories that inform facilitating and designing experiential learning. Students will develop and apply their understanding of learning theories and approaches by engaging with two experiential learning projects: one focused on facilitation design and second focused on learning design. Both projects will provide students with an opportunity to practice situated learning, social-emotional learning, and participatory experience design. In parallel to the two projects, students will create reflection and project portfolios to document their reflections throughout the course. Prerequisite: Junior Standing or above Fulfillment: Creativity and Innovation Minor, General elective.