Innovation Assignment

The Innovation Assignment is your opportunity to focus on a research project of your choice. During a Networking Event at the start of the Innovation Assignment module, various companies, organisations and research groups will present a real-life case study and you can find your 'match'. In the following weeks you work in interdisciplinary teams on these complex issues (wicked problems) from the professional field. This module provides a dynamic combination of co-creation with fellow students and the professional field, academic depth provided by (guest) lectures and professorships, and an evidencebased approach with insights from different disciplinary perspectives.

Companies and organisations are facing a world in transition. They must cope with the effects of economic developments and societal changes such as globalisation, digitalisation, internationalisation and sustainability. They must deal with complex issues that are hard to define, difficult to predict and have several causes. For instance:

• How can they guarantee the absence of child labour in their fashion supply chain?
• What can organisations do to prevent cyberattacks on their computer systems without compromising the privacy of their clients and workforce?
• What is the current state of the ‘plastic soup’ in our oceans? Who should take action and what can we do?

In your Innovation Assignment you will work on a complex problem that an actual company or organisation is facing.