problem solving course description

Problem solving

In: work skills, what you’ll learn....

What problem solving is
Why problem-solving skills are important at work and in daily life
What steps to take to solve problems
How to build strong problem-solving skills

Course description

Everyone has problems. Being able to solve them can improve our quality of life. Problem solving is the skill we use to fix things. Building strong problem-solving skills can help us understand what causes the problems we face and what we can do about them. It can also make us happier, more confident, and more independent.

In this course, we’ll learn about:

What problem solving is and why it’s important
What steps to take to start solving problems
Why a problem might happen and how to use problem-solving skills to tackle it

The Problem Solving course is part of the UP Skills for Work program which helps you build skills for learning, work, and life. When you have these skills, you have the foundation you need to work well with others — at work, at home, and in your community. The UP Skills for Work program courses include: Motivation, Attitude, Accountability, Presentation, Collaboration, Time Management, Adaptability, Stress Management, Reading, Writing, Numeracy, Digital, Problem Solving, Confidence, Communication, Creativity and Innovation.

This course is made possible through the generous support of Canada Life, the founding sponsor of UP Skills for Work . This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program. To learn more about the program, please visit the UP Skills for Work website.

Design Thinking and Innovation

Design Thinking and Innovation from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online will teach you how to leverage fundamental design thinking principles and innovative problem-solving tools to address business challenges.

Introductory

Associated Schools

Harvard Business School

What you'll learn.

Break cognitive fixedness and approach problems with a new mindset that integrates creative problem-solving and management

Develop an innovation toolkit, and determine when to apply design thinking frameworks, tools, and exercises to your own strategic initiatives

Practice empathy and apply human-centered design through techniques such as ideation, prototyping, user journey mapping, and analyzing mental models

Assess group dynamics and maximize your team’s potential for developing and iterating prototypes and managing the implementation of new designs

Understand how leaders can create the optimal environment and team dynamics to guide innovation and collaboration

Put design thinking into action by collaborating with peers from a wide range of professional experiences and backgrounds

Course description

Design Thinking and Innovation, through Harvard Business School (HBS) Online, equips current and aspiring innovation managers with the design thinking principles and innovative problem-solving tools to solve business challenges and guide their organization’s strategy. The course features five weeks of course content and two weeks of cohort project work, enabling the opportunity to put learning into practice. Leaders interviewed include Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, Royal Philips CEO Frans van Houten, and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, among others. Participants will walk away with an innovation toolkit of frameworks and exercises for identifying business opportunities and generating possible solutions for their organization’s initiatives.

Instructors

Srikant Datar

Negotiating Salary

Learn salary negotiation techniques with this free, 15-minute Harvard Business School (HBS) Online lesson taught by Mike Wheeler of Negotiation Mastery.

A computer on a table. On the computer screen, there is an image of a man in a suit.

Disruptive Strategy

Strengthen your capacity to make innovation a reality, and unlock your potential to create executive-level strategies, organize for innovation, and discover customer jobs to be done in this course from Harvard Business School (HBS) Online.