College of Continuing Education, Innovation Studies Certificate Program, 20 Ruttan Hall, 1994 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 (612-624-4000; fax: 612-626-2800)

Note: This program is not currently accepting students. Please contact the College of Continuing Education for more information about the status of this program. This certificate is built on two premises: (1) that the economic order of the 21st century will be determined more by intellectual capital and knowledge worker productivity than by the traditional resources of labor, capital, and raw materials; and (2) that an individual's success in the new economic order will be determined more by such personal characteristics as knowledge, inventiveness, adaptability, and self-reliance, than by the institutional structures and protections traditionally provided to workers by employers. Workers can no longer rely, in other words, on any established company or organization to provide secure, long-term employment. Today, they are much more on their own, requiring them to develop new skills in self-leadership, self-marketing, and team formation. These shifts are nothing less than revolutionary, propelled by ever-advancing information and communications technologies. Likewise, they will be sustained by educational systems geared to preparing human capital for continuous innovation. Associated implications for international and global cooperation, collaboration, and competitiveness will be addressed throughout the innovation studies certificate seminars. The focus of the certificate in innovation studies will be the individual, with emphasis on developing the requisite insights and skills needed to support a shift from an institutional model to a self-reliance model that rewards innovative leadership and problem solving. The curriculum will draw on a broad, growing body of interdisciplinary literature that deals with such topics as the impact of accelerating change on the nature of work and social institutions, the expansion and globalization of business and industry, geo-political change, socio-cultural change, ecological/environmental issues, population issues, the evolution of technology, and adaptive human behavior. Potential students for the certificate are adults with bachelor degrees or better who develop or innovate significant portions of their work, or who wish to learn the principles and general skills of doing so. These are knowledge workers whose professional life pivots on thought, collaboration, and decision making to help envision or produce new goods and services. Familiar job titles for this target audience include: • Organizational planners and strategists • Managers from both the private and public sectors • Engineers and scientists seeking to develop commercially successful new products • Teachers and consultants in both the public and private sectors • Financial planners and analysts • Entrepreneurs and "intrepreneurs," in both profit and nonprofit organizations The program is beneficial to anyone wanting to be better aligned with the future in her or his current position or wishing to make a strategic, innovation-focused career change.

To be admitted, prospective students must show evidence that they are prepared to successfully undertake graduate-level work, and that they understand the nature of the program. Applicants must: -hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; -submit transcripts from their undergraduate institution(s) and any subsequent credit coursework; -submit a two-page statement of purpose that explains why this program is a good fit for them; and -submit a current résumé, describing professional and lifework experiences. Letters of reference from past or current employers and/or professors are optional.

The certificate consists of at least 16 credits: 7 credits in two required core seminars and 9 credits in innovation studies electives. The core seminars include a 3-credit introductory course, IS 5001 - Introduction to Innovation Studies and a 4-credit capstone final project, IS 5002, which concludes the program. In addition to the core, students choose 9 credits of innovation studies seminars from a group of existing or prospective IS 5100 or IS 5950 topics seminars. These electives allow a student to focus on areas of innovation studies that offer the highest potential level of integration into his or her own educational and professional goals.