The course ECE 69500, Ideation Catalyst is available for Spring 2026.

• 2 credits
• Instructor: Babak Ziaie
• Babak is a professor emeritus of ECE and Principal Clinical Product Scientist at Amazon.
• CRNs:
  • On-campus students: 37970 (sync online, T/Th 4:30-5:20 PM)
  • Fully online students: 40371 (async online)

Additional course details: Recent surveys of CEOs have shown that thinking big and innovate problem solving skills are among the top traits they seek the most in job candidates. In this course, we will teach students to unlock their creative potential and master the art of generating innovative ideas addressing important societal problems by leveraging emerging technologies. Through a powerful mix of lectures, interactive ideation workshops, and peer feedback, you'll explore a wide range of cutting-edge ideation techniques—from classic brainstorming to lateral thinking and the SCAMPER method.

The course takes you through the full journey of innovation:

• Idea Harvesting: Rapidly generate and explore multiple high-impact ideas.
• One-Pager Creation: Hone your top idea into a compelling pitch designed for decision-makers like CTOs and managers.
• Six-Pager Proposal: Expand your concept into a detailed innovation proposal aimed at senior executives or potential investors.

You’ll also develop essential skills in:

• Opportunity recognition and customer discovery
• Competitive analysis and market insight
• Crafting customer stories and press releases
• UI/UX principles for real-world products
• Critical evaluation and “red teaming” for stress-testing ideas

Whether you see yourself as an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, this course will give you the mindset, tools, and feedback to transform creativity into action—and ideas into impact.

Feel free to reach out to Dr. Ziaie with questions.