81513 Past, Present, Future of Innovation
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 8 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 81512 Creative Practice and Methods OR 81540 Leading Creative Innovation OR 81538 Frame Innovation
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This subject explores the nature of innovation, highlighting the various conditions and contexts for its practice. Students explore socio-technical systems which enable and support innovations to occur, its shaping of human behaviour, and its relation to sustainability and social equity.
Through the lens of human-scale development, students critically examine the social practices of modern life as a result of past innovations, and consider how they might innovate towards more ecologically and socially responsible futures. Developing insights from the past, and challenging current innovation paradigms, students explore a range of approaches to change-making. By engaging with different values-driven innovation concepts, students are challenged to consider and address complex issues through new lenses.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Identify, interpret, synthesise, communicate and evaluate a model of enabling conditions for innovation, as understood across a variety of fields and disciplines |
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| 2. | Develop an approach to innovation in new contexts addressing complex challenges, describing changing systems, resources, people and practices |
| 3. | Recognise the relationship between values and innovation, and how they shape social practices to address human needs in complex challenges |
| 4. | Persuasively propose and describe alternative social practices in response to complex challenges by reframing values behind innovation |
| 5. | Critically reflect on personal agency, values and position in relation to innovation systems |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject contributes specifically to the development of the following course intended learning outcomes:
- Identify and evaluate complex challenges by analysing system dynamics, constraints, and potential leverage points, using disciplinary perspectives, evidence, and diverse viewpoints. (CII.1.1)
- Identify, create, and employ a range of appropriate creative intelligence methods and boundary-crossing methodologies to construct and solve problems and generate transformative possibilities (CII.2.1)
- Practice mutual, responsible value creation, including the implementation of sustainable and entrepreneurial innovation. (CII.3.1)
- Communicate transdisciplinary ideas and solutions succinctly and persuasively using appropriate modalities. (CII.3.2)
- Develop reflexive connection with an evolving self, demonstrating ethical and intellectual positions that reflect well-considered values that enable greater purpose and inclusivity. (CII.4.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject uses problem-based learning strategies that involve students individually, and in teams, developing ideas to address complex challenges. Students support their ideas with engagement with key readings and further research.
In each session, blend of plenary and tutorial breakouts, students receive ongoing feedback from academics, industry professionals and their peers, whilst working on their projects.
Content (topics)
- Innovation ecosystems
- Political economy of innovation
- Social practices
- Human-scale development
- Sustainable, equitable and responsible innovation
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Tracing Innovation
| Intent: | Developing a case study of their choice, students individually explore an innovation that has impacted present day activities and practices. Through their research, students identify and articulate the enabling contextual conditions that supported the chosen innovation to become common practice, with emphasis on the driving values behind the creation, scaling and adoption of the innovation. As teams, individual research contributes to the collective synthesis of knowledge to understand the enabling conditions of innovation, developing a model of innovation. Students then individually reflect upon the collectively developed model in relation to their case studies, evaluating the effectiveness of the model in representing the insights from their research. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): CII.1.1, CII.3.1 and CII.3.2 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Criteria: | Individual:
Group:
|
Assessment task 2: Human-scale Innovation
| Intent: | Responding to a complex challenge space, students propose new behaviours and practices that can better satisfy human needs in more sustainable and equitable ways. Using the frameworks of human-scale development and social practice theory, we critically engage with the challenge space, identifying ways in which current practices are insufficiently meeting human needs under dominant innovation paradigm and values. By exploring a range of alternative approaches to innovation, we reframe the driving values of change-making to envision new social practices that address human needs in more sustainable and equitable ways.
Individually, students detail new practices at a day-to-day level, describing the changes materials, competencies and meanings behind them in the future to better satisfy human needs. As teams, leveraging theirs insights and models of innovation from A1, collectively develop and present changes to the systems in and around the challenge space, re-imagining the enabling conditions of innovation to make way for the proposed new social practices. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2, 3 and 4 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): CII.1.1, CII.2.1, CII.3.1 and CII.3.2 |
| Type: | Project |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Criteria: | Individual:
Group:
|
Assessment task 3: The Reflexive Innovator
| Intent: | Two-part reflective task unpacking learning throughout the subject and how insights were actioned upon throughout the learning journey, emphasising personal positioning in relation to insights gained about innovation and change-making. |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): CII.3.2 and CII.4.1 |
| Type: | Reflection |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Criteria: |
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Minimum requirements
Students must attempt each assessment task and achieve an overall pass mark in order to pass this subject.
Late penalties apply to all assessment tasks as outlined in the TD School Student Guide. Please consult this booklet for other useful information including Special Consideration, Plagiarism, Extension, and Student Support Services.
A minimum of 80% of attendance of classes (as outlined in the timetable) is required.
Required texts
Please see Canvas for an overview of readings