Lappeenranta, Finland

Systematic Creativity and TRIZ Basics

when 3 July 2023 - 7 July 2023
language English
duration 1 week
credits 3 EC
fee EUR 679

New ideas always lighten up faces. It's already a big thing, but they can – depending on their size and strength – to save a project or a business, to become a device, a poem or a patent, to change life or just to add sparkling moment to it. In the course we teach the tools of systematic creativity, how to think out of the box. We introduce the theory for inventive problem solving, TRIZ, and some other methods. About 150 inventive problems are solved together in (and outside of) the class. The teaching is flipped, blended, problem-based, supported by MOOC (Massive Open Online Course).

Introduction: creativity, invention, innovation. Creativity obstacles and supporters. Place of creativity in modern economy. Invention and Innovation. Basic institutions of invention: know-how, patent, public good (paper). Thinking inertia and other invention killers. Tools for creativity support and place of TRIZ among them. Biomimetics.
Definition of Function. Function Oriented Search. Axiom of Ideal Final Result in TRIZ. Formulation, examples. Operation time, operation zone.
Invention as contradiction elimination. Engineering contradictions and elimination standards. Altshuller Matrix. Physical contradictions and elimination standards. Separation principles.
About 200 creative problems, case studies, examples and projects are discussed/solved through the course.

Course leader

Leonid Chechurin, Professor, LUT University

Target group

Graduate and Postgraduate students, Undergraduate students (min. 150 ECTS completed)

Course aim

After having completed the course, the student should be able to:
• recognize the role and place of creativity and inventing in innovation process/business, Identify inventive problems in the complex process of product development
• apply several tools for systematic idea generation (Function modelling, Ideal final result, Function-oriented search, Contradiction analysis, biomimetics)
• Act step-by-step, systematically when creative and out-of-box ideas are needed

Credits info

3 EC
- Before the class: theoretical materials are learnt through interactive videos or texts (about 20h workload)
- In class: discussion on the topic, case studies, activities, small projects to be done in teams or individually (about 40h workload)
- Independent work, reading 21h
Total workload 81 hours.

Fee info

EUR 679: Tuition fee includes attending the course, 1 lunch/day and social activities.

Scholarships

The LUT Summer School does not offer scholarships to attending the courses. However there is a 10% 'early bird' tuition fee discount available for all students who submit their application before 1 March 2023.