​​​​VISION

The Program of Innovation Management at the College of Graduate Studies, Arabian Gulf University (AGU), aspires to be the regional academic reference program in providing PhD level training in Innovation for Leadership.

MISSION

The program’s mission is to help produce the critical mass of human resources knowledgeable in innovation and to introduce the culture and know-how of innovation into the workplace in GCC countries.

OVERALL AIM

Building capacity in innovation for the GCC region by providing high level doctorate training across all fields where innovation can provide economic and social added value

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The specific objectives of this doctoral program in innovation are:

• To offer students in the GCC countries, from a wide range of specializations, the opportunity to access an international level PhD program in the field of innovation.
• To produce a generation of young professionals endowed with the skills necessary to develop, lead and spread the culture of innovation throughout the GCC countries in both corporate and public institutions.
• To build a momentum in bridging the gap between the academic, governmental and corporate spheres through collaboration on innovative projects.
• To harness research and contribute to knowledge creation in the field of innovation.  
• To develop applied research in innovation and contribute in generating innovative solutions to GCC countries’ actual problems.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon the completion of this program, successful students should have acquired the following:

1. An in-depth knowledge of innovation’s nuts and bolts (theories, methodologies, hard and soft tools).
2. The skills needed to successfully carry out innovative projects across technological and managerial fields.
3. The capacity to use innovative approaches in solving complex problems and developing corporate and public institutional strategies in a variety of specializations and particularly those most relevant to the GCC region.
4. The mastering of the tools to measure innovation outcome and defining and implementing the use of KPIs  
5. The analytical skills to leverage the use of data for innovation purposes.
6. The expertise in carrying out applied and/or basic research across of the value chain of innovation and contributing to knowledge creation in the field.
7. The ability to communicate effectively to promote the culture of innovation and to disseminate the practice of innovation in the public as well as the corporate spheres.​
   
   

PhD Program Study Plan 

PhD Degree in Innovation Management

Semester: I

FOUNDATION COURSES

Semester: 2

CORE COURSES

Semester: 3

ELECTIVE  COURSES 

Students study a total of 12 credit hours, from these courses 

Semester: 4 , 5 , 6

PhD THESIS

Total number of credit hours: 

FOUNDATION COURSES ( 6 Courses / 0 Credit Hour)

ITMIM 701 Research Methodology 

This course is designed for students who intend to conduct doctoral level research. The course covers fundamental issues in conducting empirical research, with a focus on innovation. The course is organized according to stages in the research process, from the initial framing of a research question through to research design, data collection (both quantitative and  qualitative), measurement, and analysis of the data, and  the course finishes in publishing the results of one’s work. The course provides exposure to research design and methodologies in Management and, Technology and Management with particular emphasis on examples from innovation. 

ITMIM 702 Statistical Analysis

Through this course students will acquire advanced skills in the areas of descriptive statistics, estimation of means and median, data presentation, probability, estimation and comparing of means and proportions, association and prediction, analysis of variances, correlation and regression, randomization, confidence intervals and hypothesis. The students will be trained to use statistical analysis software, such as SSPS, to learn how to use computer-generated meaningful data.  The course will also provide students with the ability to read the literature in innovation-related scientific articles and critically evaluate the study design and the data analysis.  

ITMIM 703 Scientific Writing & Communication 

The course on Scientific Writing and Communication covers all types of scientific communication from how to write papers and proposals, to how to prepare presentations and deliver talks, and any other issue that the students need to successfully carry out their research and enlarge their scientific background such as data mining and literature survey using computers. This course presents the basic guidelines of scientific writing skills and then trains the student in how to apply these guidelines to writing research papers, reviewing articles, and writing grant proposals, research statements, and résumés and preparing academic presentations and posters.

ITMIM 704 Computing and Handling of Data bases 

This course is designed to introduce students to the design and usage of databases as a large collection of integrated data. The course will introduce students to Database Management Systems (DBMS), which are software packages designed to store, manage, and facilitate access to various database systems, such as IBM DB2, Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. Through the study of real cases, the course will show how big data and big data analysis can be leveraged to stimulate the innovation process. The course uses various teaching formats including discussion forums, pointers to readings and resources and group problem analysis.

ITMIM 705 Innovation Theories and Practices 

This course is designed to provide insights into traditional as well as modern innovation theory and practices. It presents and explains the concepts used in innovation management. The course covers the innovation policy and linkage to technology policy. It presents models of innovation as well as background and history of innovation theory and covers Science, Technology, and

Innovation ( STI ) policy. 

ITMIM 706 Transfer of Technology Processes 

This course will tackle the evolution of the technology transfer concept from the original crossing of national boundaries concept to the flow of ideas and knowledge between the technology providers and the innovators within the same economy. A working definition of technology transfer will be presented and discussed. The course will then present the processes of moving discoveries to the market from the invention disclosure phase, through the intellectual property protection, promotion and commercialization phases to the process of licensing and business planning. The role of the different stakeholders will be presented and the multidisciplinary nature of technology transfer will be discussed.  

CORE COURSES ( 4 Courses / 3 Credit Hours )

ITMIM 731  Innovation Strategy and New Business Model

This course covers Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy and strategy. It addresses the enabling environment for innovation, the role of government, the private sector and civil society in innovation, STI governance, role of strategic foresight, evaluation of STI policies, innovation management tools, technology forecasting, patent analysis, innovation auditing and mapping. The course is structured around case studies and critical inquiry from global and regional contexts. The teaching methodology for the course is based on analytical research, critical thinking, comparative analysis and benchmarking within countries. Also, the course covers fundamental issues in new strategy, business models and the link with innovation, the design or architecture of value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms. 

ITMIM 732 Innovation Policy and Effective Leadership for the 21st Century 

This course introduces the process and context of innovation policy, political context, stakeholder analysis, and the role of leadership in innovation. Case studies on global and regional innovation policy will be reviewed. Models and theories of leadership will be presented and assessed. The course outlines the global changes and the challenges and opportunities of effective leadership and how leaders respond to change.

ITMIM 733 Finance of Innovation 

This course covers the basics of corporate finance, in particular the methods and instruments of equity and debt financing while a clear emphasis is given to early stage financing of projects and ventures.  The main pillar of equity and debt financing is a comprehensive and consistent business plan and accordingly, based on case studies, the students will develop fully fledged business plans/ Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) on specific projects in team work.  Furthermore, this course covers the principles of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on national and international levels (WIPO) and will teach the importance of IPR to secure the commercial success of intellectual property, to attract investors and to serve as collateral for debt financing. 

ITMIM 734 Intellectual Property for Innovation (3 credit hours)

This course emphasizes the role intellectual property plays in driving technological innovation and competitiveness across all fields of economic activities. Students will be introduced to various IP protection means such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, and other IP rights and to how to use these tools in a comprehensive and enforceable way.  Students will learn how the benefits of IP can promote investment in research and product development and harness innovation in local and international industries. Through case studies, the course will highlight how institutional IP policy, IP strategies and good licensing practices can create competitive edge and sustainable returns.

ELECTIVE COURSES ( 12 Credit Hours )

ITMIM 735 Strategic Foresight  (3 credit hours) 

This course covers the concept of foresight studies and highlights its applications and use in a variety of professional domains (scientific, technological, environmental, economic, political, and societal) on a variety of scales (personal, organizational, societal, global, and universal). The course will develop the capacity of students to use various tools for foresight.  The course will use a blend of teaching approaches ranging from formal lecturing and interactive debates, to case studies and personal research. This course will introduce students to real case studies and methods for foresight. Upon completion of this course the students should be able to help clients and employers in all fields in anticipating significant changes and in integrating those changes in the decision-making process to achieve their future goals.

ITMIM 736 Decision Theory and Analysis (3 credit hours)

This course is aimed at presenting the basic theories and methods commonly used in the decision-making and analysis process. This includes the models of decision making, decision making under uncertainty and the value of information. Through this course the students will also acquire knowledge on the Bayesian approach to decision making, elicitation methods for model building, multi-attribute utility models, multi-criteria decision making and decision trees along with a training in the use of decision-making software.

ITMIM 737 Entrepreneurship (3 credit hours)

This is a Work-Integrated Learning course (WIL), which addresses the key elements of entrapreneurship within established organizations. The primary learning mode is experiential action learning, hence to a large extent, the course requires the student to be a self-directed learner. The course will provide the student with knowledge and experience in research, negotiating with project stakeholders, planning, and monitoring, controlling and delivering successful project outcomes. Team dynamics, personal, communication and leadership styles are integral to this course. In addition, the course provides the opportunity for students to apply theoretical knowledge and skills to a proposed project in a real-world organizational setting. The feedback from industry and/or community is integrated with the student experience

ITMIM 738 Advanced Operations Management (3 credit hours)

The objective of the course is for students to learn about advanced methods for dealing with a production environment. It presents a thorough understanding of strategic and operational activities that relate to the creation of goods and services through the transformation of inputs to outputs. The material will focus on the concepts of world-class manufacturing including continuous improvement, synchronous manufacturing, and just-in-time production. 

ITMIM 739 Advanced Risk Management (3 credit hours)

This course will cover concepts of and approaches to risk management and the process of identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks.  This course will emphasize how to deal with uncertainty and risks in a dynamic and competitive marketplace. Students will engage in case studies, through which they will learn how and why risk management is a primary strategy for sustainability and success. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify various types of risks, perform quantitative risk analysis using risk measurement techniques, and use techniques to manage risk in a holistic and integrated manner.

ITMIM 7310 Innovation Adoption (3 credit hours) 

This course will focus on developing the students’ understanding of technological and market forces underlying the development of innovation and the use of new technologies, specifically information technologies. The Innovation Adoption course aims to provide the students with the processes of diffusion and adoption, as well as the diffusion of innovation. It also intends to identify the characteristics of innovation, rate of adoption, adopter categories as well as the roles of opinion leadership and change agents. At the end of the course, the students shall be able to identify the factors enhancing effective innovation and the research issues in the field of Innovation Adoption. 

ITMIM 7311 Marketing of Innovation: (3 credit hours)

This course will cover the various market entry strategies and price strategies to position a new product or service as a new entrée in the market (e.g. freemium strategy). The course will discuss the specific needs of specific types of markets such as the internet economy, B2B-, or B2Cbusiness and will include how to deal with governments, semi-governmental agencies and regulators.  The students will learn about the long term perspective of an appropriate marketing strategy including brand building against the background of scaling up the business.           

ITMIM 7312 E-Business Strategies (3 credit hours)

This course will focus on internet-based systems and their impact on the global marketplace. The course discusses the main managerial and strategic aspects of online business.  It presents the different e-business strategies both in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B), the impact of ICT on intermediation and the value chain. The impact of e-business on market configuration, industries and network relationships and the strategies for e-business innovation are also studied from a research perspective. These new e-business strategies are studied as new research issues. 

ITMIM 7313 Change Management (3 credit hours)

This course addresses the causes and drivers of change in a globalized market economy and the role of leadership and strategy to cope with change. It reviews the role of technology in change in processes and systems and how to manage change. It will include lectures, discussions, case studies and reviews of research papers in change management. Upon completion of the course, it is expected that the student will be able to: use a new approaches for managing change; identify the different drivers for change and strategies to cope with change; develop and evaluate management strategies and describe the major roles and responsibilities of senior management in managing change.

ITMIM 7314 Knowledge Management and Innovation (3 credit hours)

This course aims at providing the students with a solid knowledge of the knowledge management processes and how they link to the organizations that characterize a knowledge economy. In this course, the knowledge life cycle is presented in a way to show how it ensures sustainable added value to an organization. The course will also present how additional strategic value can be achieved through the learning perspective and the adoption of information. The course will use various teaching techniques ranging from lectures and workshops in Knowledge Management technologies, to case studies discussions, and a hands-on development project of a KM solution for an organization.

ITMIM 7315 Advanced Supply Chain Management (3 credit hours)

This course will expose students to topics related to the design and management of supply chains, from incoming raw materials to final product delivery. Course topics will include integrated supply chain design, facility planning, capacity planning, globalization and outsourcing, and risk mitigation approaches. The course materials emphasize analytic tools and quantitative approaches that are useful in the design and operation of logistics systems and integrated supply chains. Special topics include multi-criteria decision making in areas such as environmental issues and green logistics.  

ITMIM 7316 E-Governance (3 credit hours)

This course will study the huge impact of Information Technology & Communication (ICT) on management in the public sector. Indeed, after significantly changing the management of private companies, ICT is now creating important modifications in the management of all the management processes. This seminar will give opportunities to students to conduct research in the public sector to better manage change management linked to digital transformation.

ITMIM 7317 Negotiation (3 credit hours)

Negotiating is a key process in leadership, conflict resolution, and change management at every level of internal and external management. The purpose of the course is to improve students' abilities to analyze, prepare for, and practice win-lose, win-win, dialogic, and third party negotiating methods as appropriate. Emphasis is on practical application and personal development. Teaching methods used are role-playing, discussion of readings, discussion with practitioners, original student projects, and discussion of current events. Students are invited to reflect upon how negotiating and conflict resolution practices help them developmentally change themselves, their organizations, and the world.

ITMIM 7318 Advanced  Finance  of  Innovation (3 credit hours)

This course will cover the relationship between Risk and Return, portfolio theory and some additional concepts and theories such as shareholder value, capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and others. The students will discuss the methodology of corporate evaluation such as net present value (NPV) and discounted cash- flow (DCF) and their role in venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and Initial Public Offering (IPO). The students will learn about various economic options and legal instruments to conclude an investor agreement (e.g. mezzanine finance instruments, call/put options, drag/tag along agreements, lock-in agreements). The course will deal with strategies to scale up the business (e.g. internationalization, franchise agreements) and exit strategies (e.g. trade sale, IPO).  

ITMIM 7319 Globalization and Sustainability (3 credit hours)

The course aims to present the conceptual foundations and practice of enternational management, globalization, and sustainability in today’s competitive global landscape. The course will provide insights into how corporations are competing to be more global through green business, CSR, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, outsourcing and networks. Participants will be equipped with essential tools and techniques that are required to analyze the strategic competitiveness outcomes associated with international strategies. Particular attention will be given to emergent countries and to ways and means to develop specific business models, allowing them to take better advantage of globalization and addressing a sustainable development agenda.

ITMIM 7320 Technology Assessment and Due Diligence (3 credit hours)

This course is intended to present the process of due diligence, through which a novel technology is assessed prior to the launching of the innovation process and making an investment.  This course will drive the students through the path of a structured and thorough technology review and delineate how the necessary insights can be gained from the process to ensure a successful innovation outcome.  The course presents the road map of technical due diligence, emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses analysis of the innovative product and technology readiness.

ITMIM 7321 Social Innovation & entrepreneurship (3 credit hours)

The course provides the fundamental concepts and theories of social innovation, including the domain of innovation in a globalized economy. Also, the course addresses the social construction of technology and community-based innovation. It captures the linkages between corporate and community-based innovation, and the enabling environment for socio-technological innovation. It also addresses the theory and practice of social innovation, and strategies for social innovation like microfinance and awards with case studies related to GCC.

ITMIM 7322 Managing for Social Impact and Public Good (3 credit hours)

The topics for this course include corporate impacts on society, environment, and economic development. Also, it covers the impact of supply chain and the use of technology and social media to manage corporate image. Students will work together to conduct research on the multiple social impacts of a selected global enterprise with GCC. This course will provide students with an interdisciplinary framework for exploring how corporations engage with social impact. Through a combination of research, reading, class discussion, group projects and case studies, students will examine and debate issues related to corporate social and ethical responsibility for public good

ITMIM 7323 Computers in Management (3 credit hours)

 Information systems play a vital and varying role in management. In this course, we approach the subject in two ways. In one module, students learn to use technology as a tool for problem solving by developing increasingly sophisticated models in Excel. The other module provides an introduction to management viewed through the lens of technology. Students examine the role of technology in promoting innovation and organizational competitiveness across a variety of functional areas of the firm (e.g. marketing, finance, operations)

ITMIM 7324 Work-Integrated Learning Experience (3 credit hours)

This course includes a Work-Integrated Learning Experience, in which students’ knowledge and skills will be applied and assessed in a real or simulated workplace context and where feedback from industry and/or community is integral to students’ experience. Upon successful completion of this work-integrated learning (WIL) course, students will be able to: Understand various organizational structures and explore issues related to organizational change, and to apply team work to plan a project. Also to, apply ethical standards and understand workplace diversity, organizational culture and climate conditions conducive to an organization’s entrepreneurial operation, and Identify and present opportunities, research data, and resources that assist with entrepreneurial initiatives and organizational growth.

ITMIM 7325 Product Design and Development  (3 credit hours)

This course examines advanced and emerging topics in technology and innovation management.  The course may be offered as an independent study course to suit the academic needs of a student based on a supervisor’s recommendation. This course will allow students to deal with various concrete aspects of the innovation process. It covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. Topics include identifying customer needs, design thinking approach, front-end innovation, conceptual design, risk assessment and development.

ITMIM 7326 Digital Marketing and Commerce ( 3 credit hours)

This course provides a framework for students to analyze the drivers and enablers for Digital Marketing and Commerce. It covers the network and security infrastructure required for business to flourish on the web. The second part of the course will examine how Internet applications are changing business processes  and the strategic issues that these changes pose for corporate managers. The third part of the course focuses on a more detailed look at key industry sectors and challenges students to develop case studies related to Digital Marketing and Commerce

ITMIM 7327 Enterprise Social Media ( 3 credit hours)

The past few years have witnessed the rapid rise of a new type of information technology, commonly known as Web 2.0 or social media and typified by such sites as Facebook, Wikipedia, and Twitter, These new tools both present immense opportunities and pose considerable threats for businesses of all kinds companies. This course explores the major social media tools and the characteristics that are associated with their effective use. The course examines how social media is affecting the social landscape and potential business strategies that are enabled by these tools.