FutureDesign Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Design.

The history of humanity is a history of progress. But progress requires courage and ideas. Every innovative approach, as outlandish as it may sound initially, has the potential to change the world as we know it forever. But new ideas are often met with rejection or dismissiveness. Small and medium-sized businesses often do not have the time in their busy everyday schedules to study strategic issues. But this leads to the risk of being swept away by disruptive changes.

Technological, social, and organizational achievements are mostly affordable today and often available in real-time. Networking defines our everyday life and our mental development. How can we systematically tackle changes, uncertainty, and complexity? Innovation research provides a few pointers. It shows that new possibilities lie at the interface of scientific disciplines and can only be developed in collaborative cooperation.

This is exactly what Germany’s only Master's program FutureDesign Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Design. sets out to do. In a unique inter- and trans-disciplinary setting, students from different areas work on their own ideas and the project topics of regional companies and institutions. The goal is to open the mind of students for new ideas, transfer what they have learned to their professional environment, and support regional development. The contents of the academic program are accordingly diverse. They range from innovation technologies and ethical questions to aspects of project group dynamics and their communication structures.

The Master's program in FutureDesign Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Design. arose in cooperation with the Innovations-Zentrum Region Kronach e.V.

The academic program FutureDesign Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Design. pursues an integrated method and first connects the topics of innovation, entrepreneurship, and design. In order to develop decision-making skills in the field of dynamic developments, we primarily study aspects of individual attitude, fundamental assumptions, and awareness-building. We also examine the decision-making processes of individuals and organizations.

Electives promote an individualized and need-based extension of the technical expertise already available. The program is completed with the Master's thesis.

The academic program boasts a unique teaching concept that serves as a model for future higher education instruction. The goal is to open the minds of students to new things, to teach them how to deal with uncertainty (so-called VUCA thinking) and how to bring what was learned to the businesses involved, thus strengthening the future potential of the region.

The academic program breaks through the traditional hierarchy between professors and students. Teachers guide the students through projects as coaches and the curriculum is oriented on the situational needs of the students. The focus is always on the sustainable transfer of skills. Our motto is "learning by doing".

The central teaching vehicle of the Master's program FutureDesign Innovation. Entrepreneurship. Design. is the semester projects: At the start of each semester, students and cooperation partners present their project ideas, a few of which are selected for further development. The required know-how is conveyed in five different teaching formats:

• CLASSIC: Classic lecture format for all students, independent of the individual project contents of the semester project groups. Teachers convey the contents of the different modules on a rolling basis with respect to individual attendance dates.
• COMPETENCE TRANSFER: Since the student groups are composed of different disciplines, the students can transfer their specific knowledge to their peers through presentations and digital transformation. The primary goal is to network and develop the personal profile of the students in the academic program.
• TWILIGHT CITIZENS: The teachers of the academic program introduce materials into the semester project groups "on-demand." They design their teaching materials, concepts, and methods dynamically and based on students’ needs, both in terms of content and schedule,
• TWILIGHT ALIENS: In addition, if needed, external experts are invited to teach the project groups the requisite know-how "on-demand".
• COACHING: Every student project is supervised by a teacher acting as a coach. S/he observes, provides feedback, and ensures that students receive the knowledge that they need to get ahead in their project.

The unusual teaching concept of the Master's program unifies the following basic orientations:

• Partnering to develop a regional strategy for meeting innovation demands

• Promoting a pro-entrepreneurship attitude

• Forward-looking and innovation-oriented skill development and change management

The Master's program is designed as a part-time professional program. The semester includes three multi-day block courses (kick-off, triple, and final), which each take place from Thursday to Saturday. In addition, there are four ‘twin’ meetings (Friday afternoon and Saturday) every two weeks. Students work on and organize projects themselves for the most part. For these in-class phases, the students meet primarily in Kronach, but also on-site at institutions and businesses if necessary.