Graduate Courses
Listed below are several courses related to innovation and entrepreneurship offered to students at the graduate level by specific Arts & Science departments.
A&S Unit/Program: Computer Science
The course teaches techniques and methodologies that will give you a distinct career advantage after graduation. It is designed to give you a true-to-life experience of the thought processes and execution strategies behind successful tech business ventures, which apply whether you are planning on creating your own startup, joining a startup or working for an established employer.
This course is designed to be taken by people in any faculty or discipline as we will focus on helping you understand and develop modern business sense, introduce modern customer development and product development skills, financial skills, marketing skills, and more while building your own startup.
Students will work in teams to define and develop their own commercializable startups in a selected theme, develop a plan to tackle problems and introduce solutions, develop a working implementation, and present their work. Themes change every semester as we partner with new leaders in the industry. The class will be small, highly interactive, and work closely with teammates in CSC491/2600 who will build the actual product (informed and directed by work in this course).
A&S Unit/Program: Computer Science
This course is designed and delivered by industry experts from the Software and Tech fields. This course will span your knowledge from various Computer Science topics including data science, software
development, professional experience, web development, project management, and more.
While no existing knowledge of these areas is expected, you are expected to be able to write software and learn on the go! Please refer to the recommended course skills for more detail.
Students will work in teams to define and develop their own marketable startups in a selected theme, develop a plan to tackle problems and introduce solutions, develop a working implementation, and present their work. Class time will focus on the project but will include some lectures. Themes change every term as we partner with new leaders in the industry. The class will be small, highly interactive, and work closely with teammates in CSC454/2527.
A&S Unit/Program: Computer Science
This course introduces fundamental concepts from business and management that are relevant to technical entrepreneurs who are starting their own business or bringing new ideas and products to fruition within existing ones. The course is structured around case studies and discussion with leading practitioners from industry. The specific topics covered will vary from offering to offering, but will usually include marketing, product planning, short-term and long-term business plans, intellectual property rights, product liability, project management, human resource management, and basic accounting principles.
A&S Unit/Program: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
One of the ironies of globalization is that the forces that were supposed to make distance less relevant have concentrated innovative activity within regions. As a result, some of the most important policy and business decisions are made locally. This course explores how municipal actors can navigate the opportunities, and challenges, associated with globalization. After explaining why innovation is concentrated in cities, the course debates why some cities are more innovative than others. To this end, the course discusses the role of size, government policy, human capital, social capital, branding and other issues. Two additional questions frame the analysis. How can municipal actors, who lack the fiscal resources and regulatory tools of a nation-state, promote innovation? And if innovative activity is concentrated in a handful of large cities, what options are available to smaller communities? By the end of the course, students are expected to develop a strategy to promote innovation in Toronto (or another community).
A&S Unit/Program: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
Think startups and you’ll most likely think of San Francisco and its neighbouring Silicon Valley. For decades it has been the world’s focal point for startups, venture capital and global tech firms. However smart people are everywhere, and thanks to the confluence of ubiquitous Internet access and a ravenous investor demand for returns, those smart people now have the opportunity to build and grow the types of startups once thought reserved for the Valley and its imitators. This course explores this evolving geography of where globally competitive startups are emerging, digs into what’s behind their emergence, and questions what it means for us and them.
A&S Unit/Program: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining how society responds to technological change. Themes include innovation and industrial policy, finance, skills development and just transitions with a focus on energy, agriculture, health, transportation and infrastructure. Over the course of the term, students will use the knowledge gained from readings and class discussions to compile a professional policy brief that compares alternatives and offers advice to a public, private or non-profit entity of the student’s choosing. Successful students will be well-positioned for careers as consultants and advisors in the innovation domain.