Leading Innovation to Address Climate Change

Catalog description

The objective of the class is to educate students on how they can lead action to combat climate change and achieve climate adaptation through innovation and accelerating diffusion of innovations. This includes exposing them to a diverse set of technologies that are available for action, helping them to understand the current state of technology diffusion, and providing a playbook on how to: a) assess the technology, b) assess the market potential, and c) create a plan to accelerate technology diffusion In addition, the class will enrich students’ understanding of the diverse stakeholders involved, the role of government/public policy (especially as pertains to regulation and business model creation), the opportunity for social impact, and the ethical considerations in technology adoption. The course is interdisciplinary melding concepts from leadership/leading innovation, sustainability, business strategy, technology diffusion, technology assessment, technology development, marketing, public policy, societal impact, and ethics. This class has been developed primarily for practitioners who will lead action that can achieve impact in the next 10-20 years. The primary audience is students who will become: a) product managers, product management leaders, and product development leaders general managers b) startup founders/CEOs, presidents, and other senior leaders c) public policy leaders in climate (government, non-profits, industry organizations, etc.) d) product management/development or general managers for decarbonization efforts within corporations that are not in a sustainability industry. Additional audiences for this class include students who intend to enter careers as investors or consultants related to climate. For example, early-stage tech investors, climate funds, and ESG investors seeking to understand where to place bets on climate-related tech domains…