MB 713 Analysis of Emerging Technologies

Note: The following provides a suggested course description, objectives, and an outline. These may be modified pending discussion with the Faculty Chairs, proposing faculty, and other curriculum reviewers.

Representative Course Description:

This course will develop the student's capabilities to analyze particular emerging technologies for technology monitoring, forecasting, and assessment, with introduction of information mining tools and exploration of four emerging technologies. The course focuses on developing the capability to generate an Innovation Forecast, as a term project -- i.e., it presents the particular steps and techniques useful in generating innovation forecast.

Representative Course Objectives:

Students will

• Gain skills for effective management of technology that begins with 'intelligence' - i.e., information on likely changes in salient technologies and their implications for business interests
• Develop a framework and learn to utilize analytical tools to develop such technological foresight
• Develop skills and strategies for technology monitoring; technology forecasting; and impact assessment in the context of four prominent families of emerging technologies: information technologies; biotechnology; advanced materials
• Develop a heightened attention to emerging technologies and how to track pertinent developments; practical sensitivity to the future; introduction to information exploitation tools; the capability to perform technology monitoring, technology forecasting, and impact assessment - i.e., to generate an informative and effective Innovation Forecast
• Learn to be a technology manager, a critical, informed consumer of such technology foresight information

Representative Course Topical Areas:

• Foresight aims and approaches
• Technological innovation
• Innovation system modeling
• Technology monitoring, forecasting and assessment
• Electronic monitoring and text mining for technology management
• Trend analysis methods
• Scenarios
• Impact assessment
• Risk analysis
• Action (policy) analysis
• Technology roadmapping
• Tech Forecasting in perspective
• Communication and implementation of innovation forecasts

(Note – this course should include examples drawn from the 4 emerging technology domains and integrate these with these methodologies discussions)

Prerequisite Knowledge:

None