ON THE 12TH of March, the Irish government releases its report on how we will create the smart economy in Ireland. I have a few ideas that I'm trying right across the table at work with the latest crop of smart graduates. I am working with a small project team to improve innovation in their project work. My process starts by looking at what is to be shipped. At the end of a successful project, third year creative multimedia projects should identify potential opportunities related to what they design and build. This specific focus runs counter to some of my colleagues who want to allow students the opportunity to "do things that interest them." As innovation consultant Dervala Hanley (at right) would probably point out, that's a normal attitude from an academic, not something you would expect from a smart entrepreneur. The syllabus forces students to quickly develop code, interfaces and alpha versions of their ideas--that's a skill of someone pulling their weight smartly. In Tipperary Institute, we turn up the heat on creative projects by evaluating teamwork as part of the overall assessment. This is the first year that we've evaluated group projects and several promising elements of collaboration have emerged already.
Big leaps in innovation often arise from leveraging existing knowledge collaboratively. There is a huge stock of existing knowledge about PHP, lifestreaming and syndication. Those technologies feature in one of the academic projects I am monitoring. On the side, I'm reading Amar Bhide's "The Venturesome Economy" and Nathan Rosenberg's "Inside the Black Box." Both will slot onto the campus bookshelf when I'm finished. Hopefully, the collaborative student work will also merit a public display before the end of May.
Sent mail2blog using Nokia E90 O2-Ireland Typepad services while Foursquaring in O'Gorman's Cafe, Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Amar Bhide -- The Venturesome Economy ISBN 978-0691145938
Nathan Rosenberg -- Inside the Black Box: Technology and Economics ISBN 978-0521273671
Bonus Link: The most innovative third level student I've ever known.
