Award in Creativity and Innovation Management for SMEs

The Award in Creativity & Innovation Management module seeks to provide students with the skills necessary for an entrepreneur to understand the role of creativity and innovation in setting up, building and growing an SME operation. It seeks to identify best practice and provide an overview of current creativity and innovation tools and services that are available to entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs to drive the start-up or established organisation. The focus throughout the programme is the importance of the development of intellectual property which can be used by the organisation as a source for strategic competitive advantage. The emphasis is on the understanding of the underlying concepts of Intellectual Property and understanding the international infrastructure available to register and protect such rights.

 Sessions Covered: 

• Session 1 – The Learning Organisation
• Session 2 – Shared Vision
• Session 3 – Personal Mastery
• Session 4 – Mental Models
• Session 5 – Group Learning
• Session 6 – Systems Thinking
• Session 7 – Creativity
• Session 8 – Basics requirements for innovation management – Part 1
• Session 9 – Basics requirements for innovation management – Part 2
• Session 10 – Basics requirements for innovation management – Part 3
• Session 11 – Creativity theory and techniques – Part 1
• Session 12 – Creativity theory and techniques – Part 2
• Session 13 – Development Stage – Part 1
• Session 14 – Development Stage – Part 2
• Session 15 – Launch and Nurture stage
• Session 16 – Launch and Project review
• Session 17 – Build for the unknown
• Session 18 – Focusing on Process over Product

Hours of Total Learning for this module:

• Contact Hours: 58
• Self-Study Hours: 128
• Assessment Hours: 14
• Total Learning Hours: 200

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the following skills:

1. Design a questionnaire to measure the SME organisation’s aptitude for learning.
2. Apply a range of techniques including Mind Mapping, de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and, situation/solution reversal for idea generating, problem solving and evaluation.
3. Apply best practices to ensure a higher success rate in new product development activities.
4. Create collaborative arrangements with various stakeholders; including customers, users, suppliers and competitors to enhance the innovation potential of the SME organisation.
5. Apply the understanding customers and their latent needs when testing and screening new ideas and concepts related to product or service development.
6. Plan ahead on how upcoming advanced technology would impact corporate strategy and the current and future target markets of the SME organisation.t marketing campaign goals.

Each module will be assessed based on the following components:

1. Quality of Contributions in Forums: 30%
   • Evaluation of participation and the quality of insights shared in online discussion forums.
2. Quality of Contributions in Tutorials: 20%
   • Assessment of engagement and contributions during tutorial sessions.
3. Research-Based Assignments: 50%
   • Completion and quality of research-based assignments that demonstrate understanding and application of the course material.

Passing Criteria:

• Students must achieve an aggregate of 50% or higher across the three components to pass each module.

Scholarship Schemes for Maltese residents:

• MySkills Scheme: Malta residents are eligible for up to 80% reimbursement, capped at €5,000, subject to eligibility criteria. International students would be able to apply for the MySkills Scheme once they obtain their Student Temporary Residence Card (TRC). (For individual modules only)
• Get Qualified Scheme ( Scheme available for Maltese residents ) – 70% refund of course fee as a tax rebate