The university of Maine creates
innovation engineering® program
Doug Hall
Doug Hall, Founder and ceO of eureka! Ranch international
( doug@eurekaranch.com)
Today many U.S. universities are creating new progams to teach innovation skills to those who plan to go into the business world. This report
describes one such program created by the author who collaborated with the University of Maine, which he attended as an undergraduate,
to create this program. The creators hope this program will become a model to be taught at other institutions as well.
Five years ago, the University of Maine (UMaine) was develop- ing its plan for its new Foster Center for Student Innovation to assist students with ideas for businesses or inventions. At the
same time, the university invited me to speak to an incoming class of
new students. Over the years, I have been the head of the innovation
think tank Eureka! Ranch, and have consulted on product develop-
ment and marketing for many Fortune 1000 corporations. During
the visit, the president of UMaine, Robert Kennedy, asked me what
the new innovation center should be teaching students. My recom-
mendations resulted in a new program at UMaine called Innovation
Engineering®.
Launched in the fall of 2005, Innovation Engineering teaches tools
and methods for creating, communicating, and commercializing
ideas. It is now offered as a minor to undergraduates or as a graduate
certificate that complements any major or field of study, including
the sciences, arts, humanities, business, engineering, and education.
In the program, students learn how to employ the tools and methods
of innovation in their field of interest. So far about 200 students have
taken classes in the program.
The program can be a “career accelerator”
Renee Kelly, co-director of the Center, explains, “We call it the
‘career accelerator’ because this program gives students the ability
to lead and innovate in their chosen field.”
Students in the program, no matter what field they come from, learn
engineering tools and methods to innovate. For creating ideas, they
learn how to do various types of stimulus mining, such as technol-
ogy and trend mining. They even learn TRIZ, a theory for inventing
based on Russian patents.
In the communication course, students learn how to convey the
uniqueness of a new offering, its benefits instead of its features, as
well as proof that it will deliver what’s promised.
The commercialization course focuses on the Deming method of
“plan, do, study, act.” I call it “Fail fast, fail cheap.” In other words,
students learn how to mitigate risk in the product development process
by conducting small experiments to address technical, marketability,
and cost issues. To conduct these tests, students learn techniques such
as Fermi estimating, rapid prototyping, and sales forecasting. They
even learn the basics of writing a provisional patent.
The use of the “case-study” method
All of the courses are based on real-world case studies rather than
theoretical problems. At UMaine, students have created product
ideas for buckwheat farmers, ice cream and candy manufacturers,
magazine publishers, and the National Wildlife Federation. Other
case studies have included determining the best market for a core
technology with multiple applications and creating new marketing
messages for a nonprofit artisans group.
Students find immediate value in the program. James Beaupré, a
Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, is pursuing the graduate
certificate in Innovation Engineering. “Other than my undergraduate
engineering classes, these classes are the first in which I learn some-thing in class one day and I can apply it to my work or life the very
next day, with very positive results. Having enjoyed this program so
The Innovation Engineering® Minor at
the University of Maine
Course List
INV 180—Create
learn tools and methods for exploring stimulus and leveraging
diversity to create new ideas
INV 282—Communicate
learn the essential elements of successful written and oral communication of a unique idea
INV 392—Commercialize
learn systems for quickly and inexpensively finding the flaws of
an idea as well as its biggest opportunities
INV 401—Experience
combine the use of the tools and methods learned in the first
three classes to multiple real-world case studies
INV 405/6—Independent Projects
apply tools and methods to projects in one’s major field of study
much, I am seeking ways to utilize my future doctorate in chemical
engineering as an innovation engineer in the workplace,” he says.
UMaine, in conjunction with Eureka! Ranch, has plans to take the
program worldwide by licensing the curriculum to other schools.
Already, the partnership has created a leadership institute for business
executives to learn how to apply the principles of the program.
Innovation Engineering has become the focus of much of our
work. I also recently committed to 10 years of working with UMaine
to further develop the curriculum and grow the program. Kelly says
that their goal is to have at least half the student body take at least
one Innovation Engineering course.
The reason this program may catch on more than entrepreneur-
ship programs have is that “Only about three percent of students
want to become entrepreneurs, but all students need to know how to
innovate he says.”
