Facu

lty

Engi

neer

ing

and

Arch

itect

ure

HES-SO MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INTEGRATED INNOVATION FOR PRODUCT AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT(Innokick Master)

Facu

lty

Busi

ness

, Man

a-ge

men

t and

Ser

vice

sFa

cult

y De

sign

and

Fi

ne A

rts

FOREWORDThe Innokick Master offers students the interdisciplinary skills they need to develop innovative pro-ducts and services and successfully bring them to market. It also offers students the opportunity to develop the kind of business ideas that most customer-focused businesses want.

It aims to meet market demand for managers who are innovative, agile and active within their profes-sional environments, people who are creative thinkers and can readily respond to the major societal and technological challenges of the world today.

This unique venture is an interdisciplinary course which brings together students from the HES-SO’s three Faculties: Business, Management and Services; Engineering and Architecture; and Design and the Visual Arts. With over 19’400 students, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the largest UAS in Switzerland.

The Innokick Master is a ‘Design Thinking’ degree – it focuses on user experience (desirability); it harnesses technology (feasibility); and it promotes an understanding of economics (profitability).

The application form, terms and conditions and relevant deadlines are available from the HES-SO website at www.hes-so.ch/innokick

© Charlotte Krieger for all photos

Facing page – Ideas generation stage of the practical applied project.

FURTHER DETAILSThis course adopts an innovative teaching approach centred on project-based learning. It closely combines academic teaching with practical training – students carry out real assignments in colla-boration with SME/SMIs, scientific laboratories and startups.

It also draws on strategic partnerships that we have built up with players who are active in suppor-ting innovation, alongside a number of companies established here in Switzerland.

The Innokick Master offers:• the opportunity to work on a practical, career-oriented project in close collaboration with locally

embedded companies. These partners provide the bedrock for our courses and the framework for our theoretical and practical modules;

• a strongly interdisciplinary approach where lecturers, as a matter of course, work closely along-side their students;

• an emphasis on reflective, personalised learning to enable prospective graduates to plan their future careers on the basis of their professional and personal skills;

• an interdisciplinary Master’s thesis carried out in groups of two or three students.

The Innokick Master offers students from different courses of study a range of new employment opportunities. It also equips them with a unique skills toolkit so that they can actively pursue their professional ambitions and always be one step ahead of changing demands in the labour market.

DELIVERY METHODThe course is delivered as follows:

• it is full-time, delivered over 3 semesters (S1, S2, S3);• it is housed in Lausanne;• classes are delivered primarily in French, with some in English;• students who so wish may submit their work in English;• students have the opportunity to complete their Master’s thesis in collaboration with a company;• student mobility is catered for as part of the preparation for the Master’s thesis and during the

Summer academy.

Facing page – Concept Stage of the practical applied project: development of communication tools for the product concept

(drawings, models, smartphone web apps, videos, etc.).

CURRICULUMThis course awards a total of 90 ECTS credits and is structured as follows:

The course curriculum contains 6 modules of 4 to 6 ECTS credits (a total of 34 ECTS credits). Each module comprises several class units which are delivered over semesters 1 and 2 (hereinafter S1/S2). The modules are delivered centrally to all students.

The practical applied project (2 modules of 12 ECTS credits) forms the cornerstone of the curriculum. Students work together in interdisciplinary groups for two semesters (S1 and S2) to develop inno-vative products and/or services using the tools they have acquired in the theoretical and practical classes. This project is supplemented by a reflective approach focusing on the students’ personal skills.

Students take part in a Summer academy (2 ECTS credits) between S1 and S2. The course is com-pleted by a Master’s thesis (24 ECTS credits) carried out in interdisciplinary groups in S3, or, on in exceptional cases, part-time in S3 and S4. The Master’s thesis is complemented by a class unit on research methods (6 ECTS credits).

MODULESThe course modules and classes are as follows:

MODULE DESCRIPTIONS PRACTICAL APPLIED PROJECT (2 modules of 12 ECTS)

During the practical applied project, students work in groups and adopt an innovative approach concentrating on technology (technology push) and business opportunities (market pull). They have the opportunity to carry out development work in research laboratories at leading universities or to undertake consulting projects for outside businesses.This is a practical, down-to-earth project which is divided into four main stages:

1. Ideas generation (brainstorming) stage designed to help students put together a portfolio of po-tential new applications of the technology or business idea they have chosen;

2. Concept (selection and validation) stage where students identify the most commercially viable ideas and develop the communication tools – drawings, models, videos – they need to be able to ‘sell’ their most promising ideas to future users;

3. Strategic (development) stage which involves conducting ethnographic market research and des-cribing a business opportunity consistent with the strategy of the partner laboratory or business;

4. Implementation stage which involves testing the technological feasibility of the project, deploying the marketing and production plan for the product and including it in the portfolio of existing pro-ducts and new product development.

At the end of the process, students will be in a position to provide their partners with a wide range of input to help the future development of their product portfolio. Students start with the most promi-sing ideas and then develop communication tools (demos, models, films, etc.), define the potential target market, draw up a marketing plan and align it with company strategy.

Facing page – Strategic Stage of the practical applied project: business model.

MODULE DESCRIPTIONS THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL CLASSES (32 ECTS)

The practical applied project is supported by a range of theoretical and practical classes. The course curriculum contains 6 modules of 4 to 6 ECTS credits (total of 34 ECTS credits). Each module com-prises several class units which are delivered over semesters 1 and 2. They aim to support students by providing the tools they need to complete their project and to facilitate knowledge sharing between students and lecturers from the different disciplinary areas.

Ideation process (6 ECTS)The learning objective of the Ideation process module is to introduce students to the main theoretical ideas, tools and methods that are most useful in the generation and selection of ideas. It also initially seeks to provide an introduction to the specific and complementary contributions of the disciplines of engineering, design and management to the innovation process.

Product concept (5 ECTS)The Product concept module aims to provide an introduction to the main tools and methods used to take an idea for a product/service and create a model or prototype which can then be tested for feedback from potential future customers. It also aims to develop an understanding of what product concept means to each of the three disciplines (product concept in management, context of use and brief in design, functional specifications in engineering).

Marketing strategy (6 ECTS)The Marketing strategy module aims to offer an introduction to the main tools and methods used to ensure the successful launch of innovative products/services on to the market. Users should be involved in an iterative co-creation process in order to improve the product/service designed in the previous stages. Aspects of intellectual property protection (patents, design and trademark) are dis-cussed from the point of view of a deployment strategy accompanied by a suitable business model.

Implementation (5 ECTS)The Implementation module offers an introduction to the main theoretical ideas, tools and methods underlying the production and placement of products/services in the context of a globalised market and the need for sustainable development.

Talent management (5 ECTS)The Talent management module aims to equip students with a more in-depth understanding of their professional and personal skills so that they can manage multidisciplinary teams in rapidly changing environments. It also seeks to develop their leadership skills and powers of conviction in a variety of professional situations.

Management of innovation(5 ECTS)The Management of innovation module aims to provide students with an understanding of the tools they need to implement a culture of innovation in businesses of varying sizes in different industries. This module will also help students understand the strategies required to overcome the (human, technical and financial) barriers that stand in the way of introducing an innovative project to an orga-nisation. Finally, students will receive an in-depth understanding of the financial tools needed to launch innovative products/services.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (4 ECTS)

Talks by visiting speakers, workshops (2 ECTS)This class unit enables students to extend their general knowledge in the area of innovation. Guest speakers and visits to companies will further their understanding of the challenges currently facing companies at regional and national levels.

Summer academy (2 ECTS)Students participate in a two-week exchange programme at a foreign university with an excellent reputation for innovation between S2 and S3. This exchange offers students the opportunity to gain some insight into the social and economic issues facing other countries. It also enables Swiss and foreign students to get to know each other better.

MASTER’S THESIS (30 ECTS)

Master’s thesis (24 ECTS)The course is completed by a Master’s thesis (24 ECTS credits) carried out in interdisciplinary groups (of 3 students where possible, and a minimum of 2 from different disciplines) in S3. While the thesis does not necessarily need to build on the practical applied project, it should have a practical groun-ding and must demonstrate innovation or creativity. It could, for example, focus on the introduction of an innovative process into a company, on a start-up project or on the development of the product/service. It is supervised by a team of lecturers representing the 3 disciplines concerned.

Research methods (6 ECTS)This Master’s thesis module includes theoretical classes whose main objective is to enable students to develop and further their methodological and scientific skills. A successful Master’s thesis should use appropriate research methodologies and research tools while adopting an approach suitable for its specific discipline (social sciences, science and economics). This course will also give an intro-duction to methodological approaches in interdisciplinary research.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIESGraduates with an Innokick Master will find employment in a wide range of positions throughout industry (chemistry, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, IT, electronics, pharmacy, bio-chemistry, etc.) and the service sector (banks, insurance, communications, design, etc.). The main market segments open to our graduates include global industries, multinational companies, Swiss companies focusing on industry, industrial SMEs and start-ups. Graduates can expect to start work at junior-management level and then move up to executive and senior-management level.

The Innokick Master offers the prospect of a leadership role, in due course, particularly in one of the following areas/sectors:• innovation project manager;• e-consultant in innovation management;• business and service creation and development;• communications or marketing departments;• research departments for new products, services and markets;• product manager, brand manager.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIAYou may apply to study for an Innokick Master if you have:• one of the following degrees: Swiss university of applied science undergraduate degree in the

disciplines of Design and Visual Arts, Business, Management and Services, Engineering and Archi-tecture, or a degree in a related area from a Swiss university of applied science;

• the equivalent of EQF level 6 in the area of design, economics or engineering or in a related field from a Swiss or foreign university of applied science and proof of at least one year of professional practice in an area linked to your undergraduate degree and satisfactory language proficiency; level B2 in French is required in French-speaking Switzerland (DELF B2 or TFI 785 points) for appli-cants who did not complete their degree in Switzerland).

Additionally, applicants are selected on the basis of a portfolio (letter of application and curriculum vitae) and on an individual interview. We assess each applicant’s potential and ability to think creati-vely and work in a multidisciplinary team. We also set great store, in our selection process, on broad general knowledge, and an ability to contribute a rich, original and well-developed worldview.

Facing page – Implementation Stage of the practical applied project: working with businesses.

PARTNER SCHOOLSBUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND SERVICES

• Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud – HEIG-VD www.heig-vd.ch

• Haute école de gestion de Genève – HEG-GE www.hesge.ch/heg

• Haute école de gestion de Fribourg – HEG-FR www.heg-fr.ch

• HES-SO Valais-Wallis – Haute école de Gestion & Tourisme - HEG www.hevs.ch

• Haute école de gestion Arc – HEG Arc www.heg-arc.ch

• Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne – EHL www.ehl.edu

ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

• Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud - HEIG-VD www.heig-vd.ch

• Haute école du paysage, d’ingénierie et d’architecture de Genève - hepia www.hesge.ch/hepia

• Haute école d’ingénierie et d’architecture de Fribourg - HEIA-FR www.heia-fr.ch

• HES-SO Valais Wallis – Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie HEI www.hevs.ch

• Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie - HE-Arc Ingénierie www.he-arc.ch

DESIGN AND FINE ARTS

• ECAL / Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne www.ecal.ch

• HEAD Haute école d’art et de design – Genève www.hesge.ch/head

• ECAV / Ecole cantonale d’art du Valais www.ecav.ch

• Haute Ecole Arc Conservation-restauration www.he-arc.ch

PARTNER COMPANIESINNOKICK MASTER’S TESTIMONIALS

‘The System Technology Center, Nestlé SA is the R&D centre of excellence in the design, development and production of Nestlé beverage systems, bringing together expertise in machines, capsules and related products, in very close partnership with sales and marketing. The Innokick Masters program at HES-SO dovetails perfectly with the entrepreneurial and interdisciplinary mindset of our organisa-tion.’

Alfred Yoakim, Head of the System Technology Center, Nestlé SA

‘At Swisscom Smart Living, we encourage an interdisciplinary outlook. The Innokick Master’s meets our need to develop the innovation skills of our engineers and economists, which is why I welcome the development of this new HES-SO Master’s degree.’

Gregory Grin, Head of Product Development, Swisscom Smart Living (Switzerland) SA

‘What I like about this course is its multidisciplinary approach which is exactly what is needed in an increasingly demanding economic system. It fosters a more global awareness of the sensitivities required to design and launch a new product/service.’

Rémy Jacquet, General Manager, Multiple Global Design, La-Chaux-de-Fonds

‘CA Technologies is keen to show its commitment to the teaching of science, technology and enginee-ring in the IT industry and the need to train large cohorts of people in the area of innovation. We are members of the programme’s economics committee and are delighted to be able to play an active role in its development.’

Bjarne Rasmussen, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Presales,CA Technologies, EMEA

‘Innovation in Switzerland is recognised to be amongst the most dynamic in Europe. We, at FELCO Motion SA, believe that it is essential for development, economics and design to come together and develop a mutual understanding. A multidisciplinary approach is key to the success of all our day-to-day operations. When we employ a young graduate from this course, we can be sure of getting someone who has acquired an inquisitive mind and an understanding of other ways of thinking.’

Stéphane Poggi, CEO, Felco Motion SA

CONTACTNathalie NyffelerHead of MSc Innokick HES-SO MasterAvenue de Provence 61007 LausanneT + 41 58 900 00 02master@hes-so.ch

www.hes-so.ch/innokick