AI-Enhanced Innovator: Cultivating Creative Thinking & the Intelligent Invention Mindset
Boost your creative power with AI and learn to turn imagination into intelligent innovation.
Next available course: Spring 2026
Classes Start 05/04/2026
Registration Open Until 05/10/2026
Course Overview
Unlock the creative intelligence you need to thrive in a world where human imagination and AI innovation now work side-by-side. This energizing 3-week course helps you reclaim your creative confidence, expand your problem-solving abilities, and build a modern Invention Cycle Mindset—connecting imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in powerful new ways.
Across three immersive weeks, you'll explore why creativity is essential for individuals and organizations, learn how to cultivate curiosity and imagination, and practice hands-on tools that strengthen your ability to generate ideas and bring them to life. You'll dive into engaging lectures, videos, readings, and creativity-boosting activities—from mind mapping and assumption-busting to design challenges and storytelling.
By the end of the course, you'll understand how innovative people think, what internal obstacles hold creativity back, and how to design a life filled with greater creativity, confidence, and personal meaning.You'll walk away with a stronger creative identity and a practical toolkit for generating original ideas, solving complex problems, and envisioning your most successful future.
Course Format
3 week instructor-led week-to-week cadence course, with assignments, discussion boards, and learning assessments (quizzes) opening on Monday and to be completed by the end of the week. This gives students flexibility to review materials at their leisure. Additionally, recorded lectures and video recordings are available to enhance learning objectives.
Price
$625Course Details
Units 1.5 CEUs / 15 PDUs
Location Online Courses
Course Type Group-Paced
Next Available Course
Term Spring 2026
Classes Start 05/04/2026
Registration Open Until 05/10/2026
Register NowWhat You’ll Learn
After successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
-
Explain the role of creativity in personal growth, organizational success, and societal innovation, including its relevance in an AI-accelerated world.
-
Differentiate and analyze the four elements of the Invention Cycle—Imagination, Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship—and describe how they interact.
-
Identify obstacles to creativity and apply strategies to overcome internal and external barriers.
-
Use curiosity and imagination-boosting tools to generate original ideas and expand creative thinking.
-
Apply structured creative problem-solving techniques, such as mind mapping, assumption-challenging, and pivotal questioning.
-
Design and evaluate solutions to real-world problems through collaborative, iterative group exercises.
-
Diagram personal motivation and confidence patterns to identify creative flow states and opportunities for growth.
-
Create and present a personal creative narrative, demonstrating how imagination, confidence, and intentional choices support long-term success.
-
Reflect on factors that shape innovative individuals and apply these insights to their own lives and goals.
Your Instructor
Associate Professor
Dr. Violetta Gerasymenko is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the College of Business at Oregon State University. An Innovation Advocate, she currently serves on the Leadership Committee of the Design for Social Impact program at OSU, a multi-disciplinary collaborative program between the Honors College, College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Business. After completing her Ph.D. from HEC Paris, Dr. Gerasymenko held an Assistant Professor position at Nova SBE in Portugal and visiting scholar positions at MIT Sloan, New York University, and the National University of Singapore. Her research explores the multifaceted roles played by entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders such as business accelerators, crowdfunding platforms, and venture capitalists in affecting entrepreneurs. By relying on cognitive and learning theories, she seeks to uncover how and when these actors contribute to the success of entrepreneurial ventures across different sectors, from biotech to creative industries. Among her recent research interests, she explores the intersection of new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), and student learning outcomes, particularly in fostering creative thinking, social impact, and entrepreneurial orientation. Dr. Gerasymenko’s research has been published in top journals, including the Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and other international peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in English and French. She serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. She teaches entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation-related courses at OSU to undergraduate and graduate students in person and via Ecampus. Before joining academia, Dr. Gerasymenko was involved in several startup businesses and worked in one of the major venture capital firms in Paris, France. She is regularly invited to be part of startup competition juries and is a passionate coach of entrepreneurial ventures.