Innovation and Global Challenges

University of Oslo, Norway

Description of Content

Science and innovation are called upon to solve some of the most pressing problems of today, from climate change to demographic ageing, poverty and international migration. This course gives students an understanding of how innovation is intrinsically systemic and evolutionary – why established practices are hard to change, why climate solutions so often emphasise new technologies, why conditions for innovation and growth differ so much between places, and whether university-based research can really solve health problems in developing countries.

Course Modules

The course consists of five modules: digitalisation and the sharing economy; the green shift from fossil to renewable energies (sociotechnical transitions and mission-oriented innovation policy); the research system and the impact agenda (universities, IP and commercialisation, open science and RRI); management of innovation (open innovation, lean innovation, dynamic capabilities); and a practice period involving group work on a real-life case from a company or public organisation.

Timetable

Taught between late January and early May, consisting of two two-hour lectures and a student-led seminar each week, with workshops and group discussions.