course-details-portlet

IV5600

Innovation BootCamp

New from the academic year 2025/2026

Credits 2.5
Level Second degree level
Course start Spring 2026
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction English
Location Gjøvik, Ålesund and Trondheim
Examination arrangement Oral exam

About

About the course

Course content

The Innovation BootCamp course offers an intensive, hands-on experience where students engage in real-world problem-solving alongside industry partners.

The course is designed to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical application by immersing students in collaborative challenges, with use-cases from the industry sector and embedded in the challenges and studies of the faculty program. The course aims to foster creativity, innovation thinking, business and entrepreneurial thinking.

The bootcamp format includes participation from bachelor’s and master’s students from the Faculty of Engineering, working in interdisciplinary teams across NTNU campuses. The Innovation bootcamp will take place in one NTNU campus and will incorporate students from all the campuses. The desired number of students for each campus is 10 students, arriving at 30 students per bootcamp.

Key components of the course include small targeted lectures on the innovation process, mentorship from academic and industry experts, and access to resources such as laboratory materials and business consultations.

Throughout the course, students will work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams to develop and present their solutions. The course ends in a final presentation where teams showcase their minimum viable solution, demonstrating both their process and results to a panel of academic and industry judges. The winning solutions have the potential for further development in collaboration with industry partners, offering students tangible career and research opportunities.

Learning outcome

By the end of the Innovation BootCamp, students will:

  • Understand the stages of the innovation path, from ideation to developing a minimum viable solution.
  • Develop essential innovation skills such as creative thinking, effective problem-solving, and teamwork.
  • Develop skills in interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Gain firsthand experience from industry and business sectors and build practical knowledge of industry collaboration
  • Increase their motivation and capacity to explore entrepreneurial ventures and startup formation post-study.

Learning methods and activities

The course will be highly interactive, project-based and team-based approach, with students grouped into mixed teams from various campuses. Learning is facilitated through:

  • Workshops and Mini-Lectures: Focused sessions on key innovation topics, including the innovation process, creative thinking, prototype development and communication, pitching and presentation techniques.
  • Mentorship: Continuous support from university faculty and industry experts to guide the team solution development.
  • Team Projects: Real challenges provided by industry partners, encouraging students to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical setting.
  • Lab Work: Access to relevant engineering labs and materials for hands-on project execution.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Regular interactions with business representatives to refine ideas and align projects with real-world needs.

Further on evaluation

Oral presentation of the solutions/projects

Submission of the presentation.

The course has no re-sit examination and must be retaken in its entirety.

Required previous knowledge

Approved application for Innovation BootCamp

Requirements: 30 study study points at university

Course materials

Announced at the beginning of the semester. Handouts/pdf and (2003)

The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth, Clay Christensen and Roger, M. (2013).

The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

An updated syllabus list is provided at the start of the course.

Subject areas

  • Product development, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Contact information

Course coordinator

Lecturers

Department with academic responsibility

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Timetable

Timetable

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Show detailed timetable in TP Download .ics file iCal

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: Oral exam
Grade: Passed / Not Passed

Ordinary examination - Spring 2026

Oral exam
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code A Duration 60 minutes

All about examinations at NTNU