Postgraduate Course: Innovation Systems: Theory and Practice I (PGSP11334)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Is technological innovation contributing to the removal of geographical boundaries? The web, the globalisation of financial markets, the increasing delocalisation of manufacturing towards low-wage countries, the standardisation of intellectual property rights, all are seen as generating a global economy in which nation states and local constituencies have become less relevant. Local economies, however, are characterised by different infrastructures for research, innovation and production and continue to display different rates of technological change and economic growth.
Having emerged in parallel with efforts in economics to include technological change and knowledge dynamics into endogenous growth models, the development of systemic approaches to innovation can be seen as an attempt to provide an answer to this apparent paradox.
From an interdisciplinary and historical perspective, this course focuses on issues surrounding knowledge dynamics (creation, accumulation and diffusion), the interdependence and non-linearity of research and development activities, the role of institutions, and the emergence of organised markets, with a view to elucidate the shortcomings of the notion of optimality and allow for useful comparisons between the trajectory and performance of selected systems.
This course, which requires no prior knowledge of the area, is designed to provide a much needed introduction for students to concepts at the centre of contemporary studies of technological change and innovation including technological systems, industrial clusters and sectoral, regional, and national innovation systems. The relevance of such systemic approaches will be discussed in the context of both advanced economies and developing countries. The focus will be on the relationship among a variety of possible systemic configurations, processes of structural change and innovative performances.
Finally, the course will explain why and how the concept of innovation systems entail a different perspective on innovation policy, one that tends to focus on long-term competence building and requires the effective coordination of a variety of policy types, from science and education to labour markets to finance and industrial strategy. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 43 |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
88 )
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| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will have a critical understanding of the concept of innovation systems as well as the ability to investigate and/or make sense of key activities/factors shaping the evolution and performance of different systems.
These activities/factors include:
- the role of research and development in generating new knowledges and technologies;
- the process of competence building in both educational and industrial contexts;
- organisational and institutional changes required to promote innovation in different settings;
- the emergence of networks and organised markets;
- different ways to finance innovation;
- the planning and coordination of the different components of an innovation policy strategy;
- the importance of innovation systems for economic development.
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Assessment Information
| Assessment will be a final essay of 2000 words on a topic to be agreed between the student and the course convener. This might be a conventional research paper, literature review or an exercise in foresight or scenario planning. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
WEEK TOPIC
1 Discovery, invention, innovation, research, development and commercialisation
2 Innovation as a systems phenomenon ¿ general theories and models
3 Geography of production and geography of innovation ¿ nations and regions
4 Entrepreneurship and knowledge spillovers
5 The role of institutions and organisation and their changing dynamics |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Breschi S and Lissoni F (2001) Knowledge Spillovers and Local Innovation Systems: A Critical Survey, ICC, 10 (4), 975-1005.
Carlsson B. (2006), The Role of Public Policy in Emerging Clusters, in (eds) Braunehjelm P and Feldman M, Cluster Genesis: Technology Bases Cluster Development, Oxford University Press.
Cooke P (2001), Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy, ICC, 10 (4): 945-974.
Cooke, P. (2005), Regional Asymmetric Knowledge Capabilities and Open Innovation, Research Policy, 34, 1128-1149.
Edquist C (1997), Systems of innovation: technologies, institutions, and organizations, Routledge UK.
Etzkowitz H and Leydesdorff L (2000), The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and ¿Mode 2¿ to a Triple Helix of university¿industry¿government relations, Research Policy, 29 (2), 109-123
Freeman C (1995), The National Systems of Innovation in Historical Perspective, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 19, 5-24.
Kenney M and Patton D (2006), ¿The Co-Evolution of Technology and Institutions¿, in (eds) Braunehjelm P and Feldman M, Cluster Genesis: Technology Bases Cluster Development, Oxford University Press.
Laranja M, Uyarra E and Flanagan K (2008), ¿Policies for Science, Technology and Innovation: Translating Rationales into Regional Policies in a Multi-Level Setting¿, Research Policy, 37 (5) 823-835.
Lundvall BA, Johnson B, Andersen ES and Dalum B (2002), National systems of production, innovation and competence building, Research Policy, 31, 212-231.
Malerba F (2002), Sectoral systems of innovation and production, Research Policy 31(2), 247-264.
Maskell P. (2001), Towards a Knowledge-based Theory of the Geographical Cluster, ICC, vol. 10 (4), 921- 943.
Metcalfe S, and Ramlogan R, 2005 Innovation Systems and the Competitive Process in Developing Countries, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 48, 433-446.
Nelson RR, Nelson K (2002), Technology, institutions, and innovation systems Research Policy, 31(2), 265-272.
Nelson RR (1993), National innovation systems, Oxford University Press New York.
Porter M.E. (2003), The Competitive Advantage of Nations, The Free Press, NY.
Rosiello A, Avnimelech G. and Teubal M (2001), Towards a Systemic and Evolutionary Framework for Venture Capital Policy, J Evol Econ, 21, 167-189. |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
The course will be delivered through a 5 week lecture and seminar discussion format. The two-hour sessions will typically consist of a short lecture (introducing the key themes of the week¿s topic and the core readings provided) followed by an hour and a quarter of classroom discussion, student-led presentations, and case study work.
Each week¿s class will typically cover conceptual, theoretical and empirical material related to the topic, and substantive use will be made of case-study material emerging from recent research findings of the teaching staff. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alessandro Rosiello
Tel: (0131 6)50 6393
Email: Alessandro.Rosiello@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Jade Birkin
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: Jade.Birkin@ed.ac.uk |
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