General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Dr. Beatrix Dart is Professor of Strategy at the Rotman School of Management and was previously the Associate Dean, Executive Degree Programs. She joined the Rotman School of Management in 2000 following a successful career with McKinsey & Co. Since 2020, Dr. Dart is the Academic Director for Global and Experiential Learning for MBA programs. Additionally, she is the Executive Director for Rotman’s Initiative for Women in Business. She is a global strategist and has advised more than 150 companies on their growth strategies. She also serves as a corporate director at EllisDon, one of Canada’s largest construction companies, and on several non-profit boards.
Target Audience
This intensive course, “Innovation Strategy – Singapore”, offers a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the vibrant and dynamic innovation ecosystem of Singapore, one of the world’s leading hubs for technology and innovation. This course is designed for second year full-time and part-time MBA students with a keen interest in strategy and innovation. Prior coursework in business strategy is recommended but not required.
Course Dates and Format
Class Dates: November 13, 20, & 27 from 09:00am-11:00am (in-person at Rotman)
Travel Dates: January 5-11, 2025
Course Mission
Singapore has established itself as a global hub for innovation and design. The Singapore Design 2025 Masterplan recognizes innovation’s critical role in transformational change from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy and aims to position Singapore as an innovation-driven economy by 2025. Through site visits, group discussion, cultural tours and hands-on research, students will be introduced to the innovation strategy. The ultimate goal is to understand how innovation happens inside a variety of sectors and discover new ways for students to navigate and manage corporate innovation initiatives post-MBA. A group discussion will follow each company visit, aimed to help students reflect and cultivate a learning mindset, cultural adaptability, and business intelligence.
Key Highlights:
- Hands-on Experience: Students will engage with local companies and innovation labs, gaining firsthand experience of how strategy is crafted and executed in fast-paced, innovative environments.
- Expert Insights: Hear from leading experts in the field of innovation strategy through a series of guest lectures from practitioners.
- Cultural Immersion: Understand the impact of local culture on business strategies and operations. Explore how Singapore’s unique blend of East and West influences its approach to innovation.
- Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry leaders, alumni, and peers in the region. These relationships can provide valuable insights and could open doors for future collaborations or job opportunities.
Course Scope
This course involves lectures and live discussions during a six-day tour in Singapore. Some topics that might be discussed during site visits are:
- Corporate Innovation Models: Understand different models of corporate innovation such as open innovation, corporate venture capital, and intrapreneurship. Explore how these models are implemented in real-world scenarios.
- Innovation Culture and Leadership: Learn about the role of leadership in fostering an innovative culture within an organization. Discuss case studies of successful innovation leaders and their strategies.
- Digital Transformation: Study how traditional corporations leverage digital technologies to innovate their business models, processes, and customer experiences.
- Innovation Portfolio Management: Learn how corporations manage their innovation portfolio to balance between incremental and radical innovation.
- Cross-Industry Innovation: Explore how corporations can innovate by applying ideas and technologies from one industry to another.
- Innovation Metrics and KPIs: Understand how corporations measure the success of their innovation efforts. Discuss the challenges in measuring innovation and how to overcome them.
- Corporate-Startup Collaboration: It is important to understand how corporations collaborate with startups to accelerate their innovation efforts.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Participation (Individual) | Before and During Travel | 20% |
| Company Profile (Group) | Before Travel | 10% |
| Company Business Case (Group) | Before Travel | 30% |
| Reflection Blog Posts (Individual) | During/After Travel | 40% |
Required Resources and Cost
A course pack (innovation travel guide) will be provided. The cost is $3,250 CAD which includes hotel, daily breakfast, transportation, welcome and farewell meals and select cultural immersions. Students are responsible for flights to Singapore and return to Toronto, visa/transit visa to Singapore. Rotman will provide a small cash bursary to each student – amount TBD.
Deadline to pay in full: September 20, 2024 at 1:30pm
Deadline to drop: September 20, 2024 at 1:30pm
Note: We understand the drop deadline takes place before the actual course starts, however, we need to finalize numbers for the class in order to plan the travel portion. In light of this, students may incur charges if they drop after this deadline.
Experiential Course Limit
There are limits to the number of RSM27XX range courses that students may take for credit toward their degree. Please refer to the Global and Experiential Course Eligibility Specifics and Limits section on the RO website for all details.