Business development and Innovation: The policy perspective (MSB335)

Business development and Innovation: The policy perspective delves into:

• Market failure, Monopoly power and IPR
• Research and innovation policy
• Local and regional development policy
• Place-based economic policy, leadership, and regulations
• Innovative start-ups and policy initiatives
• Specific policies, e.g. smart specialization, mission oriented, transformative, sustainable, and resource-based policies.

These topics will be delivered through a combination of classes and seminars. Each student will be assigned to a group. These groups will play different roles during the seminars during the semester. Each student must equally contribute to these roles. The roles include:

• Prepare and share written questions and statements about the policies in different roles
• Respond to questions during the seminar and engage actively in it
• Organize and contribute to discussions

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, students should:

• Have knowledge of the economics of different stages of innovation processes from basic research to commercialization.
• Know how strategies and policies are embedded into national, regional, and local economic development and innovation thinking.
• Be able to apply innovation strategies and policies to restructure local businesses toward sustainable development.
• Have knowledge of policies such as: smart specialization, mission oriented, transformative, sustainable, and resource-based policies

Skills

Upon completion of the course, students should be capable of:

• Formulating policy statements and arguments to initialise a discussion
• Formulating and summarising policy statements to initialise a discussion
• Providing advice to policy makers and the public sector in design of regulations and instruments which can influence R&D, innovation, and productivity of firms, whether they were intended to do so or were designed primarily for other purposes.