Whether you’re an entrepreneur launching a startup, an “intrapreneur” seeking to spark innovation within an established company, or working at a non-profit or government organization trying to keep up with a fast-changing world, the ability to quickly ideate and implement creative solutions is increasingly essential to your success.

Familiarity with design thinking can thus be an invaluable tool to guide strategic thinking for managerial careers of all kinds. Product management professionals in particular need to be familiar with design thinking and user-centric design, as they are directly responsible for ensuring that the product development cycle is both time-efficient and generates successful business outcomes.

Design thinking principles are also closely related to Agile software development methodologies, which many tech companies require for software developers, software engineers, and related roles. Thus, this background can be especially important if you want to pursue a career with tech companies of all sizes, from lean startups to giants like Google or Apple.

Yes, Coursera offers courses and Specializations specifically geared towards design thinking and other skills you need to succeed in today’s innovation economy. Like online courses in other topics, you can attend virtual lectures, study course materials, and complete coursework on a flexible schedule, which is a particularly valuable benefit for entrepreneurs and other professionals hoping to acquire new skills while working at their current jobs - or on their startup.

And, because these courses are delivered by top-ranked institutions around the world, including the University of Virginia, HEC Paris, and the University of Sydney, you don’t have to sacrifice anything in the quality of your education to learn online.