Admission requirements
The course is only open to students that are enrolled in the LDE Minor Frugal Innovation for Sustainable Global Development.
Description
This course is the second of the three thematic modules in the LDE minor Frugal Innovation for Sustainable Global Development, and respectively focuses on the innovation, design and technology dimensions of frugal innovations.
The course start from the point of view of innovation management through which students become more acquainted with innovation theories and how frugal innovation relates to an fits into these theories. From there the step is made to innovation for low resource or resource constrained settings, what do such settings imply for innovation and product development cycles, and the technologies involved. Students learn about Technology Readiness Levels, and develop answers to questions such as: what implications do different cultural contexts have for product design? What is frugal technology and how does it come about? And how can we use technology in a coordinated way to solve problems? It includes academic debates about, among other things, frugality, early commitment, value sensitive design, management of technology, and science, and technology & innovation development that focus on different forms of technological development.
After these two strategic themes are chosen to go more in-depth and to which general concepts and notions are applied: 1) Good Health and Well-being (GH&WB) in which the aim is to design radically new diagnostic equipment that optimally functions within the specific characteristics of local health systems. In this module students will take on the challenge to adapt the developments of new medical equipment to the needs and requirements of local healthcare systems through case driven education. 2) Sanitation & Water Management (S&WM). Population growth and urbanisation increases the pressure on natural hydrological water cycles. Due to the growing water demand many regions in the world are already experiencing seasonal shortages. In this access to clean drinking water is only one side of the coin. Discharge of municipal and industrial waste water increasingly threatens clean water reservoirs. By means of practical cases students become acquainted with basic (frugal) concepts in water purification and hydrometry and/or weather forecasting.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
Objective: To acquaint students with technological innovation theories, to understand how frugal innovation relates to and fits into these theories, and how to apply it in practice.
Outcomes: After this module students will be able to:
1. Reproduce and interpret knowledge about frugal innovation from a technology perspective;
2. Apply this perspective critically to case studies from different parts of the world;
3. Analyse and interpret the potential of frugal innovation in the pursuit of the SDGs from a technology perspective;
4. Learn from other disciplines, in particular innovation (management) and technology studies, and relate this knowledge to and integrate into their own disciplinary background;
5. Make a constructive contribution to the debate on frugal innovation and sustainable global development.
Timetable
A detailed timetable will be provided in Brightspace (Leiden University) in the minor syllabus.
Mode of instruction
Tutorials, guest lectures, in-class and laboratory individual and group work.
Assessment
Take home assignments (20%)
GH&WB: In-class prototype and presentation (40%)
S&WM: Reflection on frugal water innovation (40%)
Resit: Same subtest as the first, within given timeframe.
Brightspace
Leiden University Brightspace LMS will be used for:
Announcements
Course information
Documents
Discussions
Grades
Calendar
Reading list
Reading list
All links and references to prescribed and recommended scientific and professional papers available in(Leiden University Brightspace. The strive to mostly use library and open source online publications.
Registration
You register for this course through Osiris at TU Delft.
Contact
Course Coordinator: [Prof. Cees van Beers](mailto: c.p.vanbeers@tudelft.nl)
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