SMU MASTER

OF SCIENCE
IN INNOVATION
Be an Entrepreneurial Leader

CHENG Ying Han CHUA Sher Vin Nawan POOVARAWAN

Account Manager Senior Manager, Head of SMB Customer Experiences
Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Singapore SaaS and Client Software Google SEA
Softchoice

S I N G A P O R E M A N A G E M E N T U N I V E R S I T Y
 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATION

Programme Overview
Singapore Management University (SMU) offers the Master of
Science in Innovation (MI) programme by coursework. This new
programme delivers a relevant curriculum and innovative pedagogy
applied to the heart of Singapore and the regions need for new
business creation and innovation. Providing a 12-month weekend-
based engagement, the programme offers a cross-disciplined
and practical innovation and entrepreneurship education through
world-class faculty, regular engagement with thought-leading
practitioners, a study stint abroad at a globally leading business
school, and practical innovation projects. It is designed to engage,
challenge and grow Asias next generation of innovation and
entrepreneurial leaders.
The Master of Science in Innovation (MI) programme is designed to
allow working professionals to complete the (part-time) programme
in four terms over 12 months. The MI programme commences in
the month of August, and there will only be one intake each year.
Candidates are required to complete Modules, including several
Innovation Seminars, a Capstone Innovation Project, and an
International Residency in order to be awarded the Master of Science
in Innovation degree. Our partner for the international residency
segment will be a premier university in the US or Europe with a
reputable Entrepreneurship and Innovation education programme
(between 2012 and 2014, it was Babson College in the USA).

Programme Features
The MI programme is designed to ensure that our students acquire
knowledge and competencies that are relevant to successfully
tackling todays and tomorrows innovation challenges in various
sectors, such as services or manufacturing. You will benefit
from the expertise and experiences of a wide range of resource
persons, such as SMUs outstanding and award-winning faculty,
visiting professors, successful innovators, competent industry
professionals, visionary entrepreneurs and your peers.
Pedagogical approaches include pre-course assignments, case
analyses, team activities, e-learning, industry talks, site visits and
field trips. Students are also expected to complete a Capstone
Innovation Project on a relevant topic of interest in order to hone
their innovation skills and to contribute to new value creation.

Main Learning Goals

of the MI Programme
The Master of Science in Innovation programme aims to equip students with a good conceptual understanding of the principles and
action steps of effective innovation management in business and society, including entrepreneurship, creative arts, science & technology,
social enterprises, etc. The programme will prepare graduates so that they can apply newly gained insights and acquired competencies to
real-world innovation management challenges across the four major stages of the innovation value chain (see Phases of Innovation Value
Chain and Core Module Topics on the next page) from strategy development and idea generation to commercial concept and product
development and successful market establishment, as well as sustainable growth in various contexts.

In particular, the programme will enable graduates to:

t
Think beyond current paradigms in order to discover innovation needs and to envision impact through strategic idea and
concept development (Term 1).

t Turn innovation concepts into tangible new products, services, processes and business cases (Term 2).

t Manage commercialisation challenges and market launch with confidence (Term 3).

t
Know how to accelerate growth and create sustainable value through appropriate business development, risk management,
financing and value extraction strategies (Term 4).
 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATION

Message from Message from

the Dean the Programme
The MI programme provides students with attractive
career options in nearly all economic sectors and
across a wide range of industries and organisations.
Director
Our rigorous Master of Science in Innovation (MI) programme The programme will transform you into a master of
is designed to equip students with a solid understanding of the innovation management.
principles and action steps of effective innovation management in
various contexts, such as entrepreneurship, business management, SMUs new Master of Science in Innovation (MI) programme is an
creative arts, health, finance, technology and social enterprises. important resource for leaders, managers, start-up entrepreneurs
and others interested in improving an organisations innovation
The curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that our graduates
performance and potential. Based on a powerful framework
will be able to apply their newly acquired innovation competencies
which provides learners with a useful innovation management
to real-world innovation management challenges in business and
roadmap, ranging from the strategic mastery of creative (and
society across the major stages of the innovation value chain,
other types of innovative) thinking and idea generation (with the
such as strategy development and idea generation, commercial
help of various useful tools, such as design thinking approach), to
concept and product development, launch management and
market development and sustainable growth, students will learn
market establishment, as well as successful commercialisation
how improvements in innovation can be triggered.
and sustainable growth.
The carefully designed curriculum features several innovative
A key goal is to advance the practice of good innovation
elements, such as team teaching by reputable academics and
management and to contribute to talent and innovation leadership
practitioners, experiential and social media-enabled learning,
development in this promising and strategically important area.
structured interactions with innovation professionals, etc. The
Graduates of this programme will not only benefit from exposure to
array of learning methods includes interactive lectures, case
the latest research-based knowledge, they will gain the necessary
analyses, field trips, projects and assignments. Participants will
skills to navigate fast-paced corporate and entrepreneurial
interact with a diverse group of innovation experts from Asia,
environments with proficiency and ease. We are also concerned
Europe and the United States. The one-week overseas segment
with nurturing responsive leaders who contribute positively to
includes a study stint at a reputable partner university in the US
society, both through and outside of their workplace.
(for example Babson College) or Europe, including site visits to
For this programme, we have put together some of the most innovative firms and start-ups in renowned entrepreneurial (hi-
qualified and experienced teaching faculty members from SMU, as tech) knowledge clusters.
well as other participating institutions, including several outstanding
The Master of Science in Innovation (MI) programme will transform
industry professionals who are passionate about innovation and
you into a master of innovation management. Join us if you are
eager to impart their knowledge to you.
passionate about new value creation in business and society.
I am certain that you will make full use of this enriching and
rewarding learning opportunity. Professor Thomas Menkhoff
Director, MSc in Innovation Management
Professor Gerry George Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Dean and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Singapore Management University
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
Singapore Management University
 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATION

Pedagogical Focus on Dynamic

Innovation Value Chain Concept
PHASES OF INNOVATION VALUE CHAIN AND CORE MODULE TOPICS
TERM 1 TERM 2 TERM 3 INT. RESIDENCY TERM 4

(AUG OCT)* (NOV DEC)* (JAN FEB)* MAR* (APR-JUN)*

Strategic Innovation Leadership Drives Capability and Capacity to Innovate!

Strategic Concept Development of Market Launch Managing Risk,

and Idea Development Innovative Products, and Successful Sustainable Growth
Services, Processes Commercialisation and Value Extraction
and Business Cases

t Innovation-focused t Achieving innovation t

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Business acceleration and growth strategy
strategic leadership success through and brand (scaling), including production ramp-up
people and leadership, including management, roll ups, etc.
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While innovation processes are seldom linear in practice, the 4. The final phase (Managing Risk, Sustainable Growth and Value
curriculum structure is based on the innovation process model, Extraction) puts emphasis on the business acceleration aspect
featuring four different phases, stages, components, or main activities of innovation management, sustainable growth and continuous
of the innovation value chain as shown above. value extraction.

1. The first phase, which we have termed Strategic Idea and
Concept Development, is characterised by searching for the
strategic intent and value-added innovation needs triggered by
the constantly changing ecosystem in which the organisation is
embedded. Once the overall strategy, direction and positioning
of the innovation efforts have been determined, the stage of idea
generation or ideation management kicks in to systematically
gather, share, analyse and execute innovative ideas generated
within the organisation and its collaborative networks.
2. After ideas have been ranked, conceptualised and their feasibility
assessed, they need to be turned into viable business models
and aligned with the business models of partners and other
relevant stakeholders. We have coined this second idea
conversion phase as Development of Innovative Products,
Services, Processes and Business Cases.
We are confident that graduates will benefit from our integrated
learning roadmap (see core modules next page) which is informed
by the dynamic innovation value chain concept whose major
interrelated stages and iterative feedback loops will be regularly
discussed by the contributing resource persons enabling graduates
to think end-to-end innovation.
In combination with SPRINGs Business Excellence Niche Standard
(Innovation) which features an Innovation Scorecard for Business
Excellence (I-SCORE) and other schemes rolled out by Singapores
Workforce Development Agency (WDA), SMUs MI programme
provides a great launch platform for innovators eager to create new
value and to avoid being disrupted by competitors.

3. The main objective of the third phase is the successful

implementation of the innovation. This includes prototype
production, testing and validating, production, finance, market
launch, roll-out management, sales management, etc. In our
framework, we refer to this stage as Market Launch and
Successful Commercialisation.
 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATION

Curriculum Structure
Students attend 12 modules (Saturdays), including several Innovation Seminars (Friday evenings). The total programme duration is 12 months.

TERM 1 MODULE 1 MODULE 2 MODULE 3

Strategic Idea and Concept Innovation-focused Strategic Innovation Strategy Ideation Management,
Development Leadership Development Creative Design, Prototyping
and Testing of Concepts

TERM 2 MODULE 4 MODULE 5 MODULE 6

Development of Innovative Achieving Innovation Innovation Development: Financial Management and
Products, Services, Processes Success through People Turning Concepts into New Venture Financing
and Business Cases and Organisation Business Cases

TERM 3 MODULE 7 MODULE 8 MODULE 9

Market Launch and Market Development and Commercialising Innovations Supplier and Partnership
Successful Commercialisation Brand Leadership (including (Network) Management
Launch Management)

INTERNATIONAL University Partner in the USA University Partner in the USA University Partner in the USA
RESIDENCY* or Europe or Europe or Europe

TERM 4 MODULE 10 MODULE 11 MODULE 12

Managing Risk, Sustainable Business Acceleration and Risk Management in an Business Sustainability and
Growth and Value Extraction Growth Strategy (Scaling) Unstable World (VUCA) Value Extraction

*SMU reserves the right to alter the venue as deemed appropriate; between 2012 and 2014, it was Babson College in the USA.

t
Friday evening classes are held from 7.00pm to 10.15pm (with a 15-min break at 8.30pm).
t Saturday AM classes are held from 9.00am to 12.15pm (with a 15-min break at 10.15/10.30am).
t Saturday PM classes are held from 1.45pm to 5.00pm (with a 15-min break at 3.15pm).
 MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INNOVATION

Innovation Seminars
The Innovation Seminars represent an important element of the learning experience. Participation will enable students to be at the forefront
of practice and research by engaging and networking with diverse and knowledgeable innovation experts: all in the quest for the latest in
innovation thinking and practice. Some of these seminars will introduce practical innovation tools while others will be structured like a normal
seminar on the basis of an interactive (mini) lecture, experience sharing and a question and answer segment.
The key purpose is to acquire relevant insights and competencies with regard to the various strategic learning thrusts of the MI
Programme (see below) and to support the creation of a robust innovation ecosystem within the programme context.
The final schedule of the various seminars (which might be conducted on Friday evenings and/or Saturdays depending upon the availability of
resource persons) will be provided at the beginning of the programme in August. Examples of seminar topics may include:

t
Intersectional Innovation: The Medici Effect t Social Innovation

t Creating a Culture of Innovation t Innovation Research
t The Innovators Mind Set t Entrepreneurial Journeys
t Essentials of Design Thinking and Management t Innovations and the Cloud
t Patent Thinking t Crowd Sourcing and Open Innovation

Academic rigour will be instilled through active participation, provide as many inputs as possible to our students in the process of
case analyses, creation of seminar wikis and/or practice tests. innovating across boundaries and existing domains.
Participation and attendance are compulsory. The purpose is to

Admission and Application

PROGRAMME FEES ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
MI FULL-TIME / PART-TIME t A good Bachelor degree in any field from a recognised university

Application fee S$100 t
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S$400*
Registration fee (Singaporeans / Singapore t
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(upon acceptance) Permanent Residents) of your undergraduate studies was not English
S$500* (Foreigners)
Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview as part of the
Tuition fee S$44,900 (inclusive of GST) admission process.

(*Non-refundable)
APPLICATION
The online application commences in October and closes in March.

Apply online at www.smu.edu.sg/mi

 MASTER OF SCIENCE
Core Modules (In Lecture Sequence)
Innovation-focused Strategic Leadership
The aim of this module is to enable students to appreciate what needs to be done by senior
leadership in terms of real innovation leadership, creating an organisational innovation
culture and strategy formulation to ensure that innovation initiatives will add value and
real strategic advantages to the organisation. After an introduction to the programmes
innovation framework and an overview about the various stages of the innovation value
chain, key aspects of innovation-focused strategic (entrepreneurial) leadership will be
considered, including the yin and yang of innovation strategy formulation and corporate
growth strategy. Other potential topics include an introduction to innovation models, the
basics of formulating an inspiring, integrative strategy for product, service, customer service,
process and market strategy innovations, as well as reference to relevant matrices in order
to diagnose and improve innovativeness strategically. Students will also be introduced to the
logic of the innovation portfolio vis--vis the challenging commercialisation process and how
it can help to avoid the innovation death valley in highly uncertain business environments.
Innovation Strategy Development
This module builds upon the innovation-focused strategic leadership module by providing a
deeper introduction into the innovation portfolio approach and how it can be used to ensure
that the organisation concentrates on the right innovation initiatives so as to achieve strategic
impact. This will be explored from an internal perspective that focuses on management
issues, and an external perspective that focuses on the strategic implications of competing
in new and existing industries. The implications of start-up and existing organisational
innovation approaches will also be examined in order to appreciate what it takes to
effectively respond to the forces of change and, where possible, to drive that change. In
order to understand the importance of embedding the specific goals of innovation efforts
in the context of market dynamics, customer demands and brand positioning, students
will be exposed to the theory and practice of knowledge and intelligence management.
Other topics include the importance of comparative and benchmarking information for
improved innovation performance. Students will also be familiarised with the concept of
design thinking in innovation processes, a key tool to be deployed in Module 3 of the MI
programme and beyond.
Ideation Management, Creative Design, Prototyping & Testing of Concepts
The key objective of this module is to enable students to appreciate the complexity of
the ideation management process from creative, innovative, design thinking methods to
prototyping and concept testing. In order to understand the innovators mind set, specific
reflective activities will be integrated into the module structure with special emphasis on
how thinking occurs in the creative mind and organisation, as well as selected, decision-
oriented thinking frameworks. This will form the basis for appreciating the power of effective
new idea formation and innovation management tools in order to recognise and pursue
opportunities for innovations. Participants will learn how best to effectively structure the
process of creating new ideas (ideation) so that the best product and service ideas are
harnessed and create real value for customers and the business. Critical components of this
module include design thinking (including tools and frameworks) and concept development
as practised by product-development teams, creative units or skunk works. Students will
learn to think about design with the end market and business in mind in order to create
real value. Design thinking can be described as an individual-centred innovation process
based on observation, collaboration, learning, visualisation and concept and business
development. Several tools and frameworks will be introduced that allow initial design
ideas to be carried through the concept development process to result in prototypes and
feasibility assessments. The design thinking segment is the foundation for the creation of
new products, services and businesses.
Achieving Innovation Success through People and Organisation
This module covers relevant Organisational Behaviour (OB) concepts and applications in
the context of effective innovation management frameworks. This field of study examines
how individuals, groups and structures impact upon behaviour within an organisation
aimed at enhancing effectiveness. Besides discussing the art of creating a robust culture
of innovation and how to manage innovative groups and project teams, students will learn
how to establish real leadership for innovation and the importance of aligning organisation
structure with innovation and value-creation objectives. Other topics include the basics
of talent management in order to engage and reward creative talent and to foster their
career development, as well as conflict and change management to overcome resistance
towards the implementation of innovative ideas. In sum, students will be enabled to explain
how organisational members can support innovation efforts by positively influencing
organisational behaviour with regard to culture, team management, leadership approach,
structure, talent and change management.
Innovation Development: Turning Concepts into Value-Added Business Cases
At the core of this module, which builds on Modules 13, is the question How can new
ideas be successfully commercialised? We will take a closer look at the various phases
of the commercialisation process with reference to production, distribution, marketing,
sales and customer support requirements. This includes broad issues of entrepreneurship,
intrapreneurship and new business creation, business model and business plan
fundamentals, the evaluation of concepts, business ideas and business design ideas, as
well as a basic understanding of intellectual property and value capture management.
Students who took this module will appreciate the required key processes in terms of design
and engineering to turn concepts into (profitable) finished products, services and business
processes; understand the project management requirements of innovation development
processes and know the importance of capturing, harnessing, protecting and exploiting
knowledge and IP assets related to innovation.
IN INNOVATION
Financial Management and New Venture Financing
This module introduces students to the fundamentals of financial management, new venture
financing and accountable fund raising in the contexts of concrete business cases and
innovation management approaches. Students will be familiarised with the role of finance
and accounting throughout the various stages of the innovation value chain from obtaining
seed funding during the start-up phase of a business to meeting working capital needs
(including options basics) in times of accelerated business expansion and growth. Besides
exploring new forms of new venture financing, such as crowd-funding, the module will also
cover comprehensive business planning approaches in order to improve decision-making,
e.g. on the basis of financial forecast analyses. Students who studied this module will
know how to obtain finance from venture capitalists and other private and public sources,
including the specifics of accountability, cost and revenue forecasting and some of the
requirements of risk management processes in business planning contexts.
Market Development and Brand Leadership
This module provides students with the managerial insights to perceive opportunities in
markets that currently may not exist, or where current solutions apply to other markets. Both
the positioning and strategy issues, and marketing (including strategic pricing) activities of the
innovative business are explored. Students will learn how to develop and execute marketing
strategies in intensive, fast-changing markets, including those characterised by shrinking
product life cycles and rapid turnover of knowledge and information. The course pushes
students to consider future opportunities in new spaces. In addition, the concept of brand
leadership will be covered, as well as the basics of risk analysis, successful market education
and effective launch management tactics. A key goal is to enable students to prepare the
market for innovations to ensure greater market share and to build a strong brand.
Commercialising Innovations
This module covers the basics of effectively selling innovations in the context of an
organisations ecosystem and ties with customers, suppliers, distributors, sales force, etc.
Relevant strategic sales management tools and approaches will be introduced. Students
will be familiarised with the art of persuasive communication, effective negotiation,
successful sales and after sales management, as well as post-launch management
requirements. Students who studied this module will be able to articulate how to ensure
that customers and other network partners buy innovations and that sales increase
significantly during the post-launch phase through effective sales management efforts and
on the basis of robust business and ecosystem development approaches.
Supplier and Partnership (Network) Management
This module introduces students to the imperatives of effectively managing suppliers
and partners, as well as the strategic advantage of leveraging connectivation. This term
refers to the unique business models of companies who are available 24/7 anywhere, i.e.
organisations who are exceptionally well connected to their customers. The key emphasis
of this module is on acquiring the necessary connectivation skills. Students will learn how
innovations can be promoted amongst relevant stakeholders and how to integrate them
into corporate innovation plans by using connectivity enhancing tools and approaches,
such as social media and Web 3.0.
Business Acceleration and Growth Strategy (Scaling)
The main topics of this module centre on the challenge of business acceleration and what
management needs to do in order to manage rapid growth and value creation (scaling) in
the context of cross-border and global expansion. Students will be introduced to relevant
management concepts, such as ramp-up production and the requirements of developing an
integrated growth and value-creation strategy towards a fully-thriving large-scale business
(scaling tactics). After this module, students will understand how a planned increase in firm
production ahead of anticipated increases in product demand can be managed, including the
widening of ones customer base, business model refinement, cementing ones innovative
brand leadership position and business growth to the next level in the corporate life cycle.
Risk Management in an Unstable World
Risk management and strategic agility are crucial during all stages of the innovation effort.
Besides covering selected principles of business ethics and corporate social responsibility,
students will learn how to achieve challenging profit targets while minimising risks, the theory
and practice of good earnings management, as well as advanced risk management and
reduction tools for globalising businesses. A key goal is to enable students to explain how to
ensure through proper earnings management that profit targets can be achieved and risks,
such as systematic market risks (which imply vulnerability to events which affect aggregate
outcomes, such as broad market returns) and unpredictable, idiosyncratic risks are minimised,
e.g. by hedging. Issues will be covered as well in order to appreciate how businesses can
better navigate the grand rapids of VUCA Volatility (rapid change), Uncertainty (difficulties
to predict problems), Complexity and Ambiguity (cause-and-effect confusion, uncertainty).
Business Sustainability and Value Extraction
This module focuses on the advanced stage of business innovation and growth with
special reference to sustainability as business imperative and source of innovation,
strategic value extraction tools and approaches (e.g. roll ups), the dos and donts of
preparing and following-up on successful initial public offerings (IPOs), strategic investor
relationship and regulatory compliance management, smart (new) ways to exceed
customer expectations and IPVCM (IP, contracts and licensing). Students who have taken
this module will be able to explain how to achieve business sustainability and long-term,
effective value extraction through thoughtful business expansion and good management
interventions.
Office of Postgraduate Professional Programmes
Administration Building
81 Victoria Street
Printed in Jan 2015

Singapore 188065

www.smu.edu.sg/mi min@smu.edu.sg Tel +(65) 6828 0012 Fax +(65) 6808 5252