INSTITUTE

What is the
Innovation Engineering Institute?

An academic and industry partnership dedicated to systems driven innovation.

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ACADEMIC

Innovation Engineering was developed by Eureka! Ranch in partnership with the University of Maine.

Today, Innovation Engineering is recognized as a new field of academic study. It’s offered as an undergraduate minor, a graduate certificate, and as an off-campus executive education program.

On college and university campuses we educate students on how Innovation Engineering will

enable them to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the new economy. We explain how it will help them: 1) get a job, 2) get promoted, and/or 3) turn their ideas into reality faster and with less risk.

The Innovation Engineering courses enable the personal passion of students. A student graduating with a degree in history or english or business, with a minor in Innovation Engineering, or the graduate certificate has the skills and confidence to apply, activate, and make a meaningful difference leveraging what they learned in their major field of study.

Studying Innovation Engineering on or off-campus does not make you an “engineer,” as that is a title reserved for those who have passed the requirements set up by engineering trade associations for certification as a professional engineer. However, it does teach key elements of the engineering mindset: curiosity, discipline, experimentation, problem-solving, and how to use writing and math to think deeper about challenges you face.

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INDUstry

Innovation Engineering accelerates the creation and development of more profitable and successful products and services. However, new products and services are just 10% of the innovation opportunity; 90% of the innovation opportunity lies in systems for working smarter.

Innovation Engineering methods and tools are designed to engage both left and right-brain thinkers. Projects are focused with clear and motivating strategic missions that speak to both project vision and boundaries. Idea sparking stimulus features both right-brain trends/insights and left brain technologies/patents. Decisions are grounded in data as opposed to corporate politics. Math and writing are both used to enable deeper thinking about ideas. Feasibility challenges are openly confronted not ignored. Key issues are tagged as “Death Threats” and resolved through disciplined and documented Fail FAST Fail CHEAP cycles of learning.

The result is an unleashing of a culture of “whole-brain” thinking. The 15% who have a right-brain thinking style have new hope with Innovation Engineering as there is a system for turning their ideas into reality. The 85% who are left-brain are more engaged because for the first time, for many, they see an innovation system with structure, clarity, and discipline.