9 graduate courses in Waterloo’s course catalog for Winter 2021, from UW Open Data. uwloo can’t read that term’s Graduate Calendar, so this stands in for it; the calendar itself is in Waterloo’s archive.
This course will cover the three key areas for working in teams: communicating, differing and facilitating. To master the art of managing and participating in high performing, problem-solving teams, team members must be aware of both their own and others' strengths and weaknesses when working in teams. They must also be aware of the dynamics of teams throughout the phases of a problem-solving cycle. Theory on teams and on team development will be introduced, as well as the particulars of working in teams on early-stage innovation projects. The course will then focus on deepening and practising relevant skills. It will begin with a self-assessment of personal capacities and of the distribution of skills in the team as a whole. Following this, it will focus on deepening skills in a sequence which shadows the phase of the project on which the teams are working. Students will be trained in the skills of reflective listening, problem identification and analysis, supportive listening and facilitation, creative brainstorming and alternatives generation, construction differing and choice, idea development and presentation, and team process evaluation. The format of the course will combine short lecture with experiential skill-building exercises. Coaches assigned to each team will support individual and team learning. Students will be required to enter a "contract" relative to their team role and performance.
DEI 613Digital Media Solutions 1: Design Principles and Practice
This course combines the creation of an analysis or digital design projects. Students will be provided with a theoretical and critical framework in order to learn how to contextualize digital design within the broader social, cultural, political, economic, and global context. Students will also receive hands on training in design processes, digital tools, as well as the principles of design.
DEI 614Principles of Marketing in a Globalized World: Leveraging Digital Technology
The objectives of this course are to provide the students with a firm understanding of market strategy and the techniques used for marketing in a globalized context. This course aims to instruct students in two primary, fundamental areas of marketing: (1) basic principles of marketing, which includes market segmentation strategies, the use of marketing channels, how to develop promotion and pricing strategies, and how to develop competitive advantage, and (2) how to leverage technology-driven, digital media for achieving marketing goals.
DEI 615New Perspectives: Media History and Analysis
In this course, students will be introduced to key moments in the building of mediated communication networks, where knowledge and information are interlinked on a large scale. Students will receive training in the critical analysis of these media through the use of conceptual tools possibly including but not limited to semiotics, cultural criticism, discourse analysis, visual anthropology and others.
DEI 623Digital Media Solutions 2: Project Management
This course will focus on managing production processes and resources for digital media projects, from initial planning and budgeting through the management of milestones, tasks, personnel, technical resources and delivery. Students will receive training in initiating and tracking individual tasks within the overall structure of a project, learning how to adjust for change in project needs and available resources.
DEI 624Understanding the Consumer Universe: Market Research in Digital Media
This course instructs students in the key methods of exploratory and confirmatory research for understanding consumer behavior. Students are instructed in the qualitative methods of market ethnography, where they learn how to develop the tools to recognize business opportunity through interviews, focus groups, and personal observation. Students are also instructed in the quantitative methods of market survey, where they learn how to measure the potential of business opportunity through sampling with consumer polls, questionnaires, and combined research strategies.
Changing media have a profound impact on our economy, governance, and community life. Our institutions, our approaches to economic and cultural development, and traditional business models are challenged to adapt to the realities of an information-rich, technology-enabled society. This course will provide a survey of the broad implications of evolving technology through research and case studies focusing o personal, institutional, and political choices.
DEI 626User Experience (UX) Fundamentals and User Research (UER)
This course will cover the fundamental concepts of User Experience (UX) design and research (UR). It provides students with insights into "real-life" user evaluation and/or design processes, challenges, considerations, tools, teams and models. Students will learn how to design, evaluate, implement, and/or measure engaging user experiences.
This final milestone course will serve as a capstone course for the program. Student teams will work intensively on their project, applying lessons during the other courses and working closely with industry consultants and coaches to bring their project to the stages of delivery and implementation.