Master Innovation Sciences
Modern societies are unthinkable without modern technology. It affects more or less all aspects of our life. For example, information technology has drastically transformed work, travel, communication, and homes. Advances in medical technology have radically affected our health care. Technical innovations will most likely play an even bigger role in the future. The necessity to change to a sustainable society is to a large extent an innovation challenge. Technical innovations are also the main driving force of economic growth.
‘Making technology work in society’ is what we call innovation. It is a fascinating and challenging issue, giving rise to questions such as: What sort of incentives can policy makers create to change our energy system into a more sustainable one? How can firms use technological developments to become more competitive in a global economy? What determines the public acceptance of nanotechnology or nuclear energy? How should managers, engineers, regulators and users deal with risks and uncertainties of new technologies? What types of technologies should research and development laboratories invest in? Why did the electric car never made it? How do people live in virtual and digitally augmented environments? Why is the development of solar energy so slow?
The MSc Innovation Sciences focuses on these issues. We study the interaction between technological, economic, psychological and social developments, with an emphasis on pervasive and long term changes. We give special emphasis to three domains: sustainable technologies, health technologies and information and communication technologies.
In the master program of Innovation Sciences students learn how to understand, manage and evaluate technical innovation and socio-economic change. Because many aspects are involved, a multi-disciplinary approach is essential. Students will learn a unique set of disciplinary approaches and conceptual tools to study innovation. This set is unparalleled in the rest of the world, ranging from economics, sociology and psychology, to history and philosophy.
The program has a strong international orientation. It focuses on innovation issues in the advanced economies, economies in transition and also in the context of developing economies. The MSc program is closely linked to the research program of the Eindhoven Centre of Innovation Studies (ECIS), a leading European research centre for the study of Innovation.
This Master program is eligible for a NFP fellowship. For more information about this scholarship see: http://onderwijs.ieis.tue.nl/en/facultair/exchange/0/all/scholarships