Invention and innovation: an introduction

Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

  • explain invention, design, innovation and diffusion as ongoing processes with a range of factors affecting success at each stage
  • explain how particular products you use have a history of invention and improvement, and appreciate the role that you and your family, as consumers, have played in this history
  • define key concepts such as invention, design, innovation, diffusion, product champion, entrepreneur, sustaining and disruptive innovation
  • explain the role of intellectual property in invention and innovation and list the various ways that inventors can protect their ideas
  • identify the range of reasons that motivate individuals and organisations to invent.