BADM 532 - Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces / BADM 533 - Sustainable Product Design and Business Plan Development

Authors: Viswanathan, Madhu; Clarke, John
Source: University of Illinois
Year: 2011
Number of pages: 16

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Abstract:

Chosen a Best Course of 2011 by Inc. Magazine.

BADM 532 and 533 is a two-course sequence including an international immersion experience.

Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces - Students in business, engineering, industrial design and other areas will spend five weeks of virtual immersion in subsistence contexts, including analysis of life circumstances in subsistence through interviews, simulation, and videos, and development of conceptual models of poverty, needs, products, and market interactions. Next, the course will focus on emersion of principles for business and engineering using a rich set of cases and a wide range of guest speakers. Student groups will formed to balance technical and business skills and match interests with our company sponsors. Groups will generate and evaluate a long list of possible ideas, and design market research to be conducted during an optional international field trip over part of the winter break. Students have the option to enroll in a spring course which will focus on taking the product idea to a prototype and a business plan.

The aim of the second part of the course is to develop an understanding of a systematic and structured approach for designing sustainable products and developing business plans that address the issues of economic, social and ecological sustainability. This project- based course will serve as a capstone experience in business and engineering that incorporates issues of sustainability at the intersection of these two areas. It will cover conceptual design, system (architectural) design, detailed design, cost modeling, and testing & prototyping methods. In addition, it includes writing project mission statements, business plans, and other related topics at the intersection of business, design, and engineering. The course will overlay traditional product design and business plan development with topics covering sustainable product design, sustainable supply chain management, and design and communication of sustainable value propositions.