Organizations don't struggle to find innovative ideas, but few move successfully to execute on them. Resistance to change, lack of internal alignment, and weak innovation processes derail initiatives that have every other ingredient for success.
This course prepares leaders to change that by examining how innovative ideas are generated, evaluated, and advanced within the realities of organizational priorities, stakeholder expectations, and competing constraints. It is the core leadership offering in the Executive Certificate in Digital Leadership and Innovation, focused on building the execution capability that turns digital strategy into real organizational impact.
Over ten weeks, you will explore how new technologies and emerging trends influence organizations and society, and develop a clearer understanding of the roles individuals and teams play in shaping and progressing innovation initiatives. Through structured activities and peer discussion, you will engage directly with the processes that move ideas from initial concept toward implementation.
Tthis course emphasizes human-centered leadership, equipping you to lead organizational change, foster cross-functional collaboration, and manage resistance effectively. You will develop practical tools including a digital transformation vision and roadmap, and build strategies for guiding continuous improvement and sustaining innovation in dynamic, uncertain environments.
What you will learn
- How emerging technologies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are reshaping organizations and society
- How to align digital innovation initiatives with business strategy and organizational goals
- Human-centered leadership principles for leading organizational change and engaging stakeholders
- Innovation process frameworks for identifying, structuring, and sustaining digital initiatives
- How to develop a vision and practical n innovation implementation roadmap
- Strategies for navigating uncertainty, ethical considerations, and the societal impact of technology
Skills you'll gain
- Translating digital strategy into actionable implementation plans
- Leading organizational change with human-centered approaches
- Fostering cross-functional collaboration and engaging stakeholders effectively
- Structured innovation process design and continuous improvement facilitation
- Making informed, responsible decisions in complex innovation and technology contexts
- Communicating and championing digital change at the leadership level
Who should enrol
This course is designed for professionals who are involved in or preparing for innovation and transformation initiatives:
- Managers and leaders supporting innovation or change efforts
- Mid-to-senior managers, team leaders and department heads, directors across operations, HR, strategy, and innovation
- Change management and transformation leads responsible for executing digital initiatives
Also valuable for aspiring leaders developing transformation capabilities, and HR and organizational development professionals supporting leaders through digital change.
Course instructor
Peter Carr, PhD, P.L.Eng
Continuing Lecturer, University of Waterloo | Program Author and Instructor, WatSPEED
Peter Carr is an associate professor in the Department of Management Science and Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where his work focuses on how technology can be used to improve business performance and social outcomes. He works at the intersection of digital transformation, operations, project management, and technical entrepreneurship, helping organisations and students navigate the opportunities and risks of rapidly changing technologies.
Carr teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including operations and supply chain management, project management, the strategic management of technology, the impact of information systems on society, and technology innovation and entrepreneurship. He has created multiple online simulations in project management and digital transformation and leads WatSPEED and extended learning offerings that support managers and professionals in leading technology enabled change.
Carr completed his PhD at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, where he studied the lean transformation of traditional manufacturing organisations. Before joining Waterloo, he served as executive director of the Centre for Innovative Management at Athabasca University and accumulated substantial industry experience, informing his practice oriented approach to teaching, curriculum design, and advising organisations on aligning technological innovation with human and organisational change.
Certificate and Academic Recognition
Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a professional certificate from the University of Waterloo. This course is also recognized for academic credit within the University of Dubai’s MBA Digital Leadership specialization.
Other courses in the Executive Certificate in Digital Leadership and Innovation