5G
StrategyCornell

Certificate Program

5G wireless technologies offer dramatic improvements over previous generations of wireless communication and will enable applications never seen before. By developing a thorough understanding of these capabilities, you will be prepared to take advantage of these improvements and identify innovative products and services you can develop to better meet the needs of your customers.

In this course, Cornell University professor Aija Leiponen will guide you through the key capabilities of 5G wireless networks, including significantly increased speed, reliability, responsiveness, and device-to-device communication. Using an analytical framework and other supporting tools, you will begin to re-envision your business operations, products, and services by utilizing these transformative technologies.

Additionally, you will hear from industry experts who will provide straightforward explanations of complicated technologies and offer case studies from a variety of industries that will enable you to more quickly visualize the possibilities for your organization. At the conclusion of this course, you will be better prepared to capitalize on 5G wireless technologies and proactively identify innovative opportunities that will move you to the forefront of your industry.

5G innovations will not only be based on the telecommunications network, they will also often have a social network structure to themselves. Services taking advantage of 5G might involve people communicating with each other using phone handsets with VR or AR capabilities or firms using IoT technologies to collect data and remotely adjust machine operations. In both cases, 5G enables communication and information exchange through a network of connected devices or people. In this course, you will devise a strategy to build your network which involves getting many parties to adopt your innovation simultaneously. Finally, you will manage the boundaries of the network to your advantage and help customers and complementors switch into your product or service while moderating entry of competitors. These are basic network strategies that are critical for any innovator of communication network applications to master.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Innovating with 5G

Your business model is the organizational arrangement that allows your 5G innovation to thrive in the technological and business ecosystem. First you will articulate the value proposition of your offering: who benefits from the product and how. Next you will design your intended revenue mechanism, that is, who pays for what and how much. You will also consider how much it costs to create and maintain the offering. If the resulting price-cost margin is positive, then the innovation has immediate potential. If not, you will need to reconsider how to either further improve and differentiate the innovation to enhance users' willingness to pay or lower its cost of production. Once the margin is positive, you can then develop strategies to protect that positive margin over time. There are two critical strategic challenges. First, you will explore strategies to prevent imitation of your product. If it can't be protected and competitors can easily copy or substitute the product, then there is no long-term business viability. Second, you will consider the scalability of the innovation. If the margin is positive but there is a high fixed cost of development, then the market for your product needs to be large or rapidly growing in order to provide an opportunity to scale the business.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Launching 5G Applications

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.

Upcoming Symposium: January 2023

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.