Managing Innovation
Learn how to lead innovation in a world where creativity, disruption, and strategic execution define competitive advantage.
Price
$1990.00 CAD $1890.00 CAD
Download Brochure
Upcoming Cohorts
Starting April 1, 2026
5 weeks 
Online Cohort April 1, 2026
Online Cohort
5 weeks
$1990.00 CAD
$1890.00 CAD
Innovation is no longer optional. It is how organizations survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world. But managing innovation is not simply an extension of what you already know how to do. The instincts that serve you well in most business contexts can actively work against it. This course is about understanding why, and what to do instead.
In this cohort-based course, you will develop a deep, nuanced understanding of how innovation actually works, why it so often fails, and what it takes to manage it effectively. Through rich cases, decision-based activities, and AI-assisted scenarios, you will grapple with the real tensions that define innovation management: why the best product doesn't always win, how organizations quietly lose their capacity to innovate as they grow, and what it takes to make and sell something genuinely original.
You will trace ideas from their origins in accident and serendipity through the complex challenges of bringing them to market, explore how creative industries operate by fundamentally different rules than functional ones, and examine what the rise of Generative AI means for innovation practice going forward.
If you’re ready to lead innovation, not just talk about it, this course will give you the frameworks, tools, and confidence to act.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Analyze how innovation-based competition differs from traditional industrial models, and why managing innovation requires a fundamentally different approach
- Recognize the role of accident, variation, and selective retention in innovation processes, and apply strategies to cultivate them in organizational settings
- Evaluate the factors that determine whether an innovation gains market traction, including diffusion dynamics, dominant design theory, and the limits of technical merit
- Navigate the challenge of ambidexterity: balancing the exploitation of existing strengths with the exploration needed to keep innovating
- Apply distinct frameworks for creative industries, where market dynamics, value creation, and management approaches differ from functional product categories
- Assess the implications of Generative AI for innovation practice and identify opportunities to integrate it into innovation processes
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This five-week cohort-based course includes approximately 30 to 40 hours of content. You’ll engage through weekly live sessions, case discussions, AI-assisted scenarios, and a project.
Duration: 5 weeks (~40 hours total)
Learning Method: Online Cohort
Certificate: Digital credential upon completion
You’ll engage through weekly virtual Learning Manager-led live sessions, collaborative activities, and a final project. Enrollment closes two weeks before the start date, with access beginning seven days prior to the start of the course. Spots are limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
This course is designed for professionals who want to lead innovation more effectively within their organizations or industries. It’s especially relevant for those navigating disruption, managing creative teams, or responsible for bringing new products and services to market.
Ideal participants include:
- Mid- to senior-level managers with responsibility for innovation, strategy, product development, or R&D
- Leaders in established organizations grappling with how to sustain innovative capacity as they grow and mature
- Professionals in industries undergoing rapid change, where the rules of competition are shifting
- Individuals preparing for leadership roles in innovation-intensive environments who want a rigorous, evidence-based foundation
Rob Austin
Professor, Information Systems
Rob Austin is a Professor of Innovation and Information Systems, and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences. He has worked extensively with corporate clients, including BP, CIBC, Citrix Systems, Hewlett Packard, IBM, LL Bean, Maersk Oil and Gas, Microsoft, Pfizer, Roche, Symantec, UPS, and the United States House of Representatives.
Rob is the author of nine books and has published widely in both academic and professional journals, such as Harvard Business Review, Information Systems Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, Organization Science, Organization Studies, and the Wall Street Journal. He also is the author of more than 50 published cases and notes, three Harvard online products, and two popular Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) running on the Coursera platform.
Courses
Cohorts will continue to occur on a rolling basis, select a cohort start time that works for you.
| Date | Length | Learning Method | Tuition Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting April 1, 2026 | 40 hours over 5 weeks | Online Cohort |
$1990.00 CAD $1890.00 CAD |
Please note the deadline to enroll in the program is two weeks before the start date. Spots will be reserved on a first come first served basis.
Enrollment and Payment FAQs
Click “Enroll Now” on the course page and follow the prompts to complete your registration.
We accept major credit cards. You’ll be prompted to select your preferred method during checkout.
- For Cohort programs - 30 Days Before Program Start
- Cancellation: You will receive a full refund of the program fee.
- Transfer to a Later Date: No fees apply.
- Less than 30 Days Before Program Start
- Cancellation: Incurs a 25% cancellation fee.
- Transfer to a Later Date: Incurs a 15% transfer fee.
- Once the cohort is live, the program is non-refundable and cannot be transferred to a later date.
- Compassionate exceptions: Fees may be waived on compassionate grounds, please contact online@ivey.ca
- Unredeemed transfers: If not used within 12 months, the full program fee is forfeited.
No, the purchaser and the person taking the course must match to ensure the digital credential is given to the correct person.
Yes, please contact online@ivey.ca and we will set up a group invoice.
Certification and Credentials
Yes. You’ll receive a digital certificate from Ivey Business School upon successful completion of the course.
Ivey’s certificates are widely respected and can be added to your LinkedIn profile or resume.
Upon completion, you’ll receive a secure digital credential directly to your email, that can be shared and verified online.
Cohort Course Structure and Experience
This is a cohort-based, five-week online course with weekly modules, virtual live sessions, and peer collaboration. The course will be run by a Learning Manager that you can contact with questions. You’ll complete a final project based on everything you learned.
For Cohort courses access will conclude 90 days after the course start date.
Plan for approximately 8 hours per week, totalling 40 hours over five weeks.
There are no exams. You’ll complete weekly activities and submit a final project.
Yes. You’ll engage with your cohort through live virtual sessions, discussion boards, and peer feedback activities.
Live sessions are exclusive to cohort courses. They run for 45–60 minutes, usually between 5:00–6:00 PM EST. Your Learning Manager will confirm the schedule. Sessions include group discussions, course insights, occasional guest speakers, and Q&A. Participation is optional but highly encouraged. Recordings will be available on the learning platform after.
