Admission requirements
The course is only open to students that are enrolled in the LDE Minor Frugal Innovation for Sustainable Futures.
Description
The Frugal Innovation in Practice comprises of a field assignment in which you will work on a real-life frugal innovation in domains within the International Centre for Frugal Innovation (ICFI) which, among others, include water, energy, health, agro-food, urban living environments, and digitalization. Field assignments are issued, among others, by ICFI itself or other knowledge institutes, companies, NGOs, municipalities, etc., all in close collaboration with ICFI. Students will work on assignments that can be research or more practically oriented. Divided into multidisciplinary teams of three or four, ideally with one student from each participating university (Leiden, Delft, Erasmus), students bring together and integrate their knowledge base with that of the others.
The field assignment can be conducted abroad or in the Netherlands. If going abroad, students have to finance their own travel, accommodation and living costs. The costs involved are country and context specific, conducting a field assignment in the Netherlands is obviously the cheapest option, while doing a field assignment abroad, in particular outside Europe, will be more costly.
The field assignment is conducted between November 2025 and the second-last week of January 2026. This includes a preparatory stage, the actual implementation, and the finalization. It concludes in the last week of January 2026 during which students present the results of their field assignment, reflect on and evaluate their experiences in the field, and link these to the narratives on Frugal Innovation explored in the course Capturing Frugal Innovation in Block I.
As with the rest of the Minor, the field assignment requires a fulltime commitment.
Course objectives
Objective: To experience Frugal Innovation realities and integrate own knowledge base with that of the others.
Outcomes: After this module students are able to:
1. Apply and extend the knowledge and skills acquired during the theoretical part of the minor in a specific context and practical assignment;
2. Define and shape the contribution of own field in solving a specific problem of frugal innovation;
3. Collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds;
4. Foster an open mind and attitude that is sensitive to different cultural contexts;
5. Communicate and present on frugal innovation to academic and non-academic audiences.
Timetable
A detailed timetable will be provided in Brightspace (Leiden University).
Mode of instruction
Coaching and mentoring.
Assessment method
Assessment
The assessment consists of an weighted evaluation of:
1. the overall quality of and the application of frugal principles in the output and outcomes of the field assignment and the relevance of these for the field assignment provider;
2. individual and group performance during the field assignment;
3. an individual reflection, in which the student relates the experiences of the field assignments to insights gained from the course Capturing Frugal Innovation in Block 1.
Further details to be provided in Brightspace (Leiden University)
Weighing
- the overall quality of and the application of frugal principles in the output and outcomes of the field assignment, and the relevance of these for the field assignment provider (60%)
- individual and group performance during the field assignment (20%);
- an individual reflection, in which the student relates the experiences of the field assignments to insights gained from the course Capturing Frugal Innovation in Block 1 (20%)
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
A resit is where possible the same subtest as the first, within the given timeframe.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
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 will be made available in and through Brightspace (Leiden University). We strive to mostly use library and open-source online publications.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory (only applies to LEI students).
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Guest students from TUD and EUR will be helped with their course enrollment.
Contact
Course Coordinator: Dr. André Leliveld and Betty Huerta (MEng)
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Remarks
Not applicable.