Innovation is the process of implementing new ideas and adapting to change. Without innovation, there would be no progress, and our world would still be in the dark ages.
To aid your knowledge on this important topic, we've compiled the best free online courses that can help you implement new ideas into your life and improve your ability to deal with change—both within yourself and in your business.
There are many advantages for an organization or a professional who wants to develop innovation as a skill. The ability to find out new ideas, improve productivity and grow profits with innovative solutions is necessary for today's fast-changing environment.
But where can you learn more about innovation if you don't have much experience? There are many sources of information online where you can get new skills, knowledge, and tips on how to be more innovative at work. Here are our top 10 picks of free online courses available now!
Innovation occurs everywhere. The majority of the time, it involves ordinary people solving real problems. Imagine yourself in this situation.
In this course, you will learn how to discover and solve problems. The objective of this course is to evaluate the potential for entrepreneurial innovation in the problems you see in your daily life and around the world. Then, you will iterate until you find the perfect solution. This will lead you to become a user innovator.
Eric von Hippel - Professor of Management of Innovation and Engineering Systems • MIT Sloan School of Management
Erdin Beshimov - Lecturer, MIT, and Director of the MIT Bootcamps Program • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Estimated Time:
10 weeks (2-4 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Regardless of size or type of organization, innovation is important for everyone, including managers, start-up entrepreneurs, government officials, and teachers.
In this course, students learn how to identify and choose opportunities to enable innovation using creativity and design thinking skills. A range of real-world activities enhances and develops creative problem-solving skills. An overview of design thinking tools is provided to aid students in understanding design thinking as a problem-solving approach. These processes are applied to a customer discovery approach to understand these ideas' market value.
Tim Kastelle - Associate Professor • The University of Queensland
Estimated Time:
10 weeks (8-10 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Prof. Bill George, former Medtronic Chair and CEO, teaches you how to become an innovation leader in this original course. In addition to personal stories of exceptional innovation leaders, concepts, exercises, tools, and practical tips to help you become an exceptional innovation leader, Professor George will cover the essential elements of knowing yourself, your unique leadership gifts, motivations, and the purpose of your leadership.
Bill George - Professor • The Georgia Institute of Technology
Estimated Time:
6 weeks (4-6 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
In this course, professionals are prepared to handle digital transformations at the intersection of technology and business.
Brad Wheeler - James H. Rudy Professor of Information Systems, IU Vice President for IT & CIO emeritus • Indiana University
Alex Lopes - Clinical Professor of Information Systems, Kelley School of Business • Indiana University
Ramesh Venkataraman - Associate Dean and Professor of Information Systems, Kelley School of Business • Indiana University
Estimated Time:
12 weeks (8-10 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Individuals working in the biomedical sector will benefit from this MOOC by discovering emerging trends and taking their next career step.
Thomas Scheibel - Prof. Dr. • The University of Bayreuth
Estimated Time:
8 weeks (1-3 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
You'll learn how to unleash your team's creative potential by using Agile solution targeting.
John Johnson - Strategic Program Manager, Faculty, Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland • University of Maryland
Estimated Time:
4 weeks (2-3 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Today's society faces many challenges related to sustainability. As a result, governments, media, academics, and industry are increasingly paying attention to sustainability issues.
It is possible for businesses that are often seen as part of the problem to be part of the solution when it comes to sustainable development. Because of this, policymakers, industry leaders, society, and academics are trying to understand how sustainability affects traditional business methods, as well as how sustainable businesses affect traditional businesses. Global executives today face a key challenge: developing a sustainable competitive advantage.
Paolo Taticchi - Dr • Imperial College Business School
Estimated Time:
6 weeks (2-3 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Business Model Design relies heavily on the skills and leadership of entrepreneurial managers. Finding opportunities and aligning resources to achieve important objectives require a disciplined approach.
Students will develop intuition and visual thinking skills during this course while applying quantitative methods learned in other courses, such as Finance and Economics.
This course focuses on four things:
Luis Antonio Marquez-Heine - Director del Centro de Innovación y Emprendimiento Campus Santa Fe así como director del Full Time MBA
Estimated Time:
4 weeks (5–8 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Rather than being merely a vehicle for commercialization, business models are viewed as forms of innovation. As students progress through this course, they will learn how to evaluate ongoing market fit and sustainability using multiple business model innovation avenues.
A strategic value of information is introduced in this course, along with the tools and techniques that can be used to analyze and use that information to improve decision-making by introducing an evidence-based approach to innovation management. Customer discovery, prototyping, financial modeling, business plans, and forecasts are some of the tools available.
Rachel Fitzgerald - Associate Director of Online Education • The University of Queens and Business School
Anna Jenkins - Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation • The University of Queensland
Tim Kastelle - Associate Professor • The University of Queensland
Estimated Time:
10 weeks (8–10 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed
Changing and being innovative is a must in today's uncertain workplace. From firm resistance to enthusiastic engagement, people react differently to change in their organization. Understanding people's reactions to change gives change leaders an edge because how they respond to change impacts organizational outcomes.
During this course, you'll learn about the psychological underpinnings of change, needs assessment and evaluations, and how to capitalize on employee creativity.
Joana Kuntz - Associate Professor • University of Canterbury
Fleur Pawsey - Ph.D. • School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing, University of Canterbury
Estimated Time:
6 weeks (6–8 hours per week)
Free & Self Paced
Progress at your own speed