The All-Island Innovation Programme is an InterTradeIreland funded programme established to promote and encourage innovation across the island.
For our Innovation Lecture and Master Class of 2019, UCC are delighted to announce the visit of Professor John Bessant on March 11th 2019. Professor Bessant has been active in research, teaching and consultancy in technology and innovation management for over 25 years and author of the leading textbook entitled "Managing Innovation". He currently holds the Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Exeter University (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRznoD_l4ZQ ). He has acted as advisor to various national governments and to international bodies including the United Nations, The World Bank and the OECD.
The Innovation Lecture (8.30 am-9.30am) entitled "The Innovation Imperative" will address the fundamentals of innovation and how it can be managed strategically by organisations of all sizes, including SME's. The lecture will introduce some of the key concepts and tools of innovation management and help you map out a pathway for your own organization to succeed through innovation.
The master class session (10am-12pm) entitled "How innovative is your organisation?", provides the opportunity for greater audience engagement and application to your particular organisation. You can find more information on the Lecture and Master Class below.
Both events are will take place on Monday, March 11th 2019 in UCC's new Business Executive Education Building in Lapps Quay, Cork. Attendance is free but registration in advance is required due to room capacity.
Lecture and Master class detail
1. Innovation Lecture – The Innovation Imperative
Innovation matters – of course! If we don’t change what we offer the world and the ways we create and deliver that there’s a good chance we won’t be around for long. Innovation is about survival – and growth. But it doesn’t happen by accident – we need to learn to manage it effectively.
The good news for SMEs is that the key to successful innovation isn’t all about resources – big isn’t always beautiful in this field. What’s needed is a clear understanding of what innovation involves and a commitment to manage it strategically.
This session will introduce some of the key concepts and tools and help you map out a pathway for your own organization to succeed through innovation.
2. Interactive Master Class – How innovative is your organisation?
Building on ideas and themes raised in the first session this interactive workshop will give you a chance to explore the key question of innovation fitness. If you’ve ever entered a New Year thinking ‘I need to get fitter’ then you’ll know that this isn't an armchair exercise. You have to go to the gym and begin to work out. But where do you start? What are the key things to focus on, the strengths on which you can build and the challenges in term of building up your capability?
This session will be based around a tool (which you are welcome to take away and use back in your organizations) called the Innovation Fitness Test. It does what it says on the tin... gives you an insight into your innovation strengths and the areas which you might need to develop further. It also offers some ideas about how to move forward, what your scores mean and how you might address some of the challenges in building your innovation capability.
