Courses
Featured Spring 2021 Courses
Scroll to the bottom of the page to view our full Spring 2021 course offerings.
TE200 – Introduction to Innovation – Just for LLC Residents
CRN 72790 | 1 credit hr. | MON/WED – 2:00-2:50pm | Online only | Instructor: Keilin Jahnke
Join this special section of TE200 exclusively for LLC residents! Learn about innovation, identify key attributes of innovation leadership, and practice innovation leadership personally and professionally. Identify opportunities and work in teams to address them, practice leadership and followership and hone your written and verbal presentation skills.
TE298 (HS) – Communication for Tech Innovators
CRN 65618 | 1 credit hr. | WED – 3:00-4:20pm | Online only | Instructor: Harlee Sorkin
This class explores the common characteristics of messages that influence people to change their behavior. It follows the framework in the book Made to Stick, by Chip & Dan Heath, and consists of brief and fun exercises designed to hone those skills. This course is valuable to everyone, but especially useful for innovators who must pitch their ideas to partners, investors, and customers.
TE360 – Lectures in Engineering Entrepreneurship – just for LLC residents
CRN 72792 | 1 credit hr. | TUES – 5:00-5:50pm | Online only | Instructor: Marissa Siero
Hear from a different guest speaker each week! Entrepreneurs and innovators will speak about a variety of topics including evaluation of technologies and business ideas in general; commercializing new technologies; financing through private and public sources; legal issues; product development; marketing; and more.
NEW! TE398 (EL) – Entrepreneurial Leadership
CRN 68008 | 3 credit hrs. | TUES/THURS – 12:30-1:50pm | Online only | Instructor: Samantha Lindgren
This course focuses on the leadership skills necessary for the formation of a lean startup. The course will make use of case studies of successful tech startups, academic research in lean leadership, collaboration in engineering, and applied project work. Communication for a variety of audiences and settings will be emphasized, as well productive knowledge- and consensus-building within teams, and creating cultures of innovation and diversity to encourage growth and opportunity.
TE398 (IED) – Innovation & Engineering Design
CRN 73920 | 2 credit hrs. | MON – 4:00-5:50pm | Online only | Instructor: John Thode
A course on the engineering process fostering the identification of needs and potential engineering solutions. This course will encapsulate the ideation and problem identification aspects of engineering senior design, and is anticipated to facilitate student innovation. This course is designed for sophomores and juniors.
TE398 – Hip Hop Entrepreneurship
CRN 64184 | 3 credit hrs. | THURS – 6:00-6:50pm online lecture | TUES – 6:00-6:50pm in-person lab | Instructor: William Patterson
This course integrates use of the Hip Hop Xpress, a converted bus that serves as a mobile innovation lab to connect students with those working with young people in marginalized High Hope communities around the state and beyond. Students will get an opportunity to develop electrical engineering projects such as circuit building through Bluetooth Boom Box speaker builds, or projects that focus on improving device usage of various bio-engineering technology, particularly around chronic diseases. They will also develop canvas modeling to reflect project development strategies within the context of a lean startup venture. Students will develop and test their projects on the Hip Hop Xpress.
TE401 – Augmented Listening and Audio
CRN 66226 | By arrangement | Instructors: Andy Singer, Ryan Corey
Interested in audio, signal processing, hearing aids and listening tech, embedded hardware and software, industrial design, VR/AR and more? You can pursue individual research in a variety of fields in this project based course.
NEW! TE498 – Hacking for Defense: Solving National Security Issues with the Lean Launchpad
CRN (In-person) 72890, CRN (Online) 65326 | 3 credit hrs. | TUES/THURS – 2:00-3:30pm | In-person or Online | Instructor: Alex Gorsuch
In a crisis, national security initiatives move at the speed of a startup yet in peacetime they default to decades-long acquisition and procurement cycles. Startups operate with continual speed and urgency 24/7. Over the last few years they’ve learned how to be not only fast, but extremely efficient with resources and time using lean startup methodologies. In this class student teams will take actual national security problems and learn how to apply “Lean Startup” principles, ("business model canvas," "customer development," and "agile engineering”) to discover and validate customer needs and to continually build iterative prototypes to test whether they understood the problem and solution. Teams take a hands-on approach requiring close engagement with actual military, Department of Defense and other government agency end-users. Team applications required. Submit an application for this course here. Limited enrollment. Graduate and undergraduate students may apply.
TE498 – Leading Sustainable Change
CRN 65320 | 3 credit hrs. | MON/WED – 4:00-5:15pm | In-person | Instructors: Gayle Spencer, Beth Hoag
How to build change that lasts. Learn about theories and process of change; systems thinking concerning change consequences; building coalitions and communities to support change; and implementing and managing projects effectively.
We're Here to Help!
For questions about TEC courses, certificates, or the ILEE BS Degree, please contact Tara Flesner, TEC Office Manager, at the following email address or phone number. You'll receive a quick response during normal business hours.
Email: tec@illinois.edu
Phone: 217-244-3124