Week 1: Introduction to the Lean Canvas for Invention II & Problem Identification
Week 1 the Lean Canvas for Invention II & Problem Identification
Introduction & Expectations
The focus this week will be an Introduction to the course and the Lean Canvas for Invention II. The II indicates the addition of (I) Career Development and (I) Matrix Mentoring. We will review the expectations for the course and the course Syllabus.
Dr. Cynthia Furse will be the facilitator for week 1
Here's a quick elevator pitch about me:
Expectations for Week 1:
Pre-Class Preparation
This week we'll be meeting everyone in the class, through a 3 minute "elevator pitch." Here's that assignment: Elevator Pitch
We'll also introduce what the Lean Canvas for Invention II is (a cool methodology for exploring a new idea through full literature reviews (journals, patent, business info) and interviews with stakeholders). To this, we've added Career and Mentor Network Development (so that's the II).
Please also help us by filling out the pre-class surveys. We'll check in the end to see how well this class has met its goals by helping you grow in these areas:
Your goal for the semester is to complete enough assignments to get 150 points per credit (for however many credits you signed up for). Choose a few of these assignments, and see what you think.
Lean Canvas: Suggest the Big Picture Problem you will explore this semester. (In the Career Development section of this week, you will be preparing a 3 minute elevator pitch about you and your research interest. Suggest your Big Picture Problem in this pitch.)
IntroDuction
Lean Canvas for Invention (LCI) is a tool for guiding academic inventors at the time of research formation. It is a visual aid with the components required to improve the quality of the research proposals for inventing technologies with brighter chances of commercialization. The canvas guides in inventing technologies aligned with the needs of technology transfer offices in the entrepreneurial universities. The focus of the canvas is to provoke academic inventors to think about the commercialization of their technology at the earlier stage of their research process and help them in meeting with the stakeholders, searching for patents, market solutions and prepare for higher technology readiness levels for their future inventions.
This canvas guides academic inventors through its components and respective checklists.
The components are Problem Identification, Literature Search, Existing Solutions, Market Landscape, Novelty, Research Question, Research Methodology, Key Resources, Team Capacities and Research Outcome. The respective checklists are developed to assist academic inventors in finding the real-world practical problem and inventing solutions to reduce customer pain and increase chances of the technology commercialization.
The canvas is given below:
NOTE: Each of the components and the respective checklists is discussed in detail on separate pages. You are suggested to use a large surface poster displaying this canvas and post-it notes to present answers of the checklist items to your research team under the supervision of your mentor in follow-up classes. This activity will help you to understand, discuss and analyze your research proposal with your mentor and other team members. The components and respective checklists will let you improve the quality for your proposal and the chances of your invention to be commercialized in future.
Chapter 1 -- What is the Lean Canvas for Invention?
The idea for the Lean Canvas for Invention (LCI) comes from the Lean Canvas for Business (LCB). The LCB helps startups find the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The LCI is similar, but starts at an earlier stage in the development cycle. It helps the researcher define a Most Valuable Research Question (MVQ). Here are some resources on the LCB:
Osterwalder, A. et al., 2010. Business model generation : a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers, (book available at the library Level 2 call #: HD30.28 .O778 2010 or an an online e-bookLinks to an external site..
Three aspects the help an invention convert to an innovation (Episode 02):
Problem Identification Checklist and Questions (Episode 03)
Understand the definition of mentoring and various forms of mentoring relationships
Identify your level of readiness to begin a mentoring relationship
Recognize the bidirectional nature of mentoring - Finding a Mentor
IntroDuction
This week you will learn about some of the underlying relational constructs involved in successful mentoring relationship, which will help you find a mentor who aligns with your professional or educational goals. You will also start to learn more about your readiness for engaging in a mentoring relationship - as a mentor or mentee. Some questions to ponder are: What are characteristics of mentors/mentees that help me thrive? What are some areas of strength and growth for me as a mentee/mentor?
Complete the Mentoring Readiness Assessment and Reflection. This self-report assessment is designed to help you identify your level of readiness for engaging in a mentoring relationship and areas in which you may need additional support. You will also compete a short reflection on previous mentoring relationships to identify characteristics of mentoring relationships that help you grow. Go to Mentee Readiness Assessment (M1)
Recognize the importance of intentional career planning
Learn the process of creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Reflect on your career development including aspirations, expectations, and career barriers.
Evaluate your level of competency in specific graduate school tasks, objectives, and skills.
Develop and present a concise "elevator pitch" to introduce yourself and your research interests
IntroDuction
No matter what career you plan to pursue after earning your degree, being proactive in the career development process and using your time strategically while enrolled in graduate school will enhance your career success.
Pre-Class Readings / Activities
1. Create a three-minute "Elevator Pitch" (Career Development Assignment 2) to introduce yourself to the class and tell them about your research interests.
Step 1: Spend some time thinking about how you will first introduce yourself. The introduction should take approximately 1.5 minutes and cover things such as your name, year in program, where you grew up or did your undergraduate program, and anything else that you think would be pertinent or interesting for us to know.
Step 2: Then spend some time thinking about how you will talk about your research interests. The research component of your elevator speech should take approximately 1.5 minutes and cover things such as your research interests, if you are working with a research team/research advisor, what you're currently working on, what you hope to work on this year, and how you hope to contribute to the field or what problems you hope to solve.
Step 3: Practice your "elevator pitch" and time yourself. How did you do? Was it approximately three minutes? If you went over time, think about where you could shorten your pitch; if you were under time, what could you add?
Step 4: Practicing your pitch multiple times before recording will help calm your nerves. You may want to jot a few notes down on a piece of paper to help you remember what you want to say - but try to avoid reading a script. An elevator pitch should be practiced but not sound robotic. Remember to breathe while you are talking and speak slowly; in many cases we get nervous and speak too quickly. Finally, be sure to "bring yourself" to your elevator pitch, make eye contact, and smile!
Pre-Class VIDEOS, Tutorials, & Class Recording
Watch A.J. Metz Pre-Course Introduction Video "Surviving & Thriving in Graduate School"
OverView of Assignments
Complete the Pre-Class LCI Survey (Career Development Assignment that includes measures of engineering interest, engineering self-efficacy, career aspiration/expectation, engineering persistence intentions, career barriers, and graduate STEM competencies.
Your Pre-Class LCI Survey responses will serve as a baseline measure of many important career development variables such as engineering interest, aspirations, self-efficacy beliefs, persistence intentions, and barriers. The survey will also ask about your confidence in skills, knowledge, and competencies associated with STEM graduate student success. At the end of the semester you will take the Post-Class LCI Survey and be provided with your difference scores. Differences from Pre to Post will help you see how you have changed over the course of the semester.
Because we would like to use Pre and Post data to determine the effectiveness of this class, we will also be asking questions to track your progress towards a degree (e.g., coursework, # publications, # presentations, membership in professional organizations, etc.)
Further, you will have an opportunity to consent to your data being used (in aggregate form) to compare your end-of semester outcomes to a sample of electrical engineering students who did not participate in the class. For example, one question we have is, "Do students who have taken the LCI course have greater confidence in their ability to conduct research than those who did not take the LCI course?" Know that when we aggregate data, we remove any identifying information, so your confidentiality is protected. Thus we are collecting additional demographic data (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) for the purposes of describing and comparing our samples (participants and non-participants).
We hope that you will allow us to use your aggregated pre and post survey data (as well as other survey data we collect) to evaluate the effectiveness of this course. Below is the LCI Survey Informed Consent Form. Please review this form. We will be discussing it on the second day of class and you will have an opportunity to give consent for your survey data to be used for research purposes.
If you have any questions about the LCI Pre-Class Survey, please bring them to class or contact A.J. Metz (aj.metz@utah.edu).