I.Think @ Sage College of Albany

I.Think Logo

A unique characteristic of the Sage College of Albany LIFE/General Education curriculum is the I.Think program. This three-course sequence (the first two of which are requirements and a third which can be taken as an elective) is designed to provide SCA students with experience in creative problem-solving, group interaction, leadership, design thinking, and community engagement. Through these classescalled respectively Learn, Engage, and Innovatestudents will develop the sorts of skills and abilities necessary to succeed in a constantly-evolving world that increasingly demands individuals to be able to:

  • seek solutions that transcend mainstream thought and a single-discipline approach,
  • implement a problem/opportunity paradigm that serves others
  • persist in the face of obstacles,
  • value equally the roles of leader and team member and be ready to assume either as circumstances warrant,
  • honor, value and encourage diverse views, opinions and approaches,
  • negotiate with peers, subordinates and superiors,
  • master technology and employ it as a means rather than an end, and
  • use a variety of tools to communicate with a diverse population.

These abilities are in turn placed in service to a commitment to community and to improving the world around us.

Innovation Thinking is

  • an innovative way of competing
  • a collaborative process that frees people to solve problems creatively
  • finding paths to solutions that used to be blocked by preconceptions
  • a multidisciplinary attitude and approach to finding creative audience-focused solutions

Innovation Thinkers

  • explore a landscape of innovation
  • are empowered to think outside their academic or experiential silos
  • are intensely collaborative, empathic, with the craft to make things real in the world
  • understand that human and business needs drive innovation and that innovation can come from anyone at any time
  • see relationships and connections that are vital to understanding the big picture
  • are prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world

Innovation Thinking at Sage

  • A new way of integrating the major programs
  • To encourage interdisciplinary, creative, team-based approaches to problem-solving among the students and faculty
  • Moves students from good enough to inspired and inspiring

I.Think Courses

ITK-101 I.Think Learn
This first-year, core course sets the stage for understanding the value of Innovation Thinking in your intellectual and personal development. You will gain experience in the interdisciplinary, collaborative, and creative problem-solving that is required in todays 21st century world. This guided experience with faculty teams (or faculty and student mentors) is intended to support your sense of having ownership of your education and life-long learning, another tenet of design thinking. Work in the course will contribute to your appreciation of the collaborative, interdisciplinary skills necessary for long-term success in higher education, graduate school, and the contemporary global workforce. Note: transfer students with 45 or more transfer credits upon admission are not required to complete ITK 101.

ITK-301 I.Think Engage
This third-year, core course provides students the opportunity to learn and practice the theories and techniques of I.Think, e.g., innovative, collaborative, end-user-based problem solving. These processes involve the creation and implementation of innovative systems that lead to the recognition of and ultimately solutions to anticipated and unanticipated problems. Prerequisite: ITK 101

ITK-401 I.Think Innovate
This fourth-year, core course is project-based and designed to provide an experience in developing and beginning to operationalize a new concept, which could be a new idea, approach, business, product or service. In this course, multidisciplinary teams will build new-to-the-world offerings that will benefit both the individual team participants and the groups/societies in which they live/work. Projects that solve problems related to vulnerable populations, homelessness, education, disabilities, and care for the aged are strongly encouraged. Prerequisite: ITK 301

Suggested Reading

  • The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell, 2002.
  • Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell, 2007.
  • A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future, Daniel Pink, 2006.
  • The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm, Tom Kelley, 2001.

For More Information

Professor Michael Bienkowski
Coordinator of iThink Program
518-292-1744 | bienkm@sage.edu