Digital Innovation and Transformation Lab (xLab)

Catalog description

AI and emerging technologies are reshaping how organizations design solutions, improve processes, and create new value. This project-based course provides students with hands-on experience in AI-enabled transformation and innovation through real-world, team-based projects. Students work on open-ended innovation challenges and applied industry-style problems, using modern analytical, computational, and design tools to develop and implement practical solutions. Projects follow a human-centered design approach, beginning with stakeholder and user needs, problem framing, and context analysis, and moving through solution design, prototyping, testing, and refinement. Students learn how to translate ambiguous needs into structured project plans, evaluate alternative approaches, iterate on solutions, and communicate results to stakeholders. Typical projects may involve AI-assisted analysis, process improvement, data-driven solution design, prototype development, and innovation strategy. The course develops skills in human-centered design, project scoping, experimentation, implementation planning, and team-based delivery in complex, technology-enabled environments. In this course, students will have a unique learning opportunity to learn the actual contemporary digital innovation practice, working on real-world projects in a small agile multi-disciplinary team. The goal is to equip students with the necessary technical and managerial skills. The target audience is the students who want to become product strategists, product managers, product owners, agile scrum masters, UX designers, full-stack developers, or digital innovation consultants. This course serves as a capstone experience in which students integrate technical, analytical, and design skills developed in prior coursework to deliver a comprehensive, real-world AI and innovation project. The course emphasizes synthesis, implementation, and professional communication through a final written report, public presentation, and reflective analysis. Offered as BTEC 398 and BTEC 498 . Counts as a Capstone Project course.