This document summarizes a seminar on teaching and coaching innovation through games and group discussions. The seminar introduced techniques for teaching students and practitioners innovation based on games and discussions. It was organized by John Bessant and Anna Trifilova from the Universities of Exeter and Leipzig, respectively. The document describes two potential training games for an "Open Innovation" course - one where managers take on different profiles to generate new ideas for a product, and another using straws to symbolize importing ideas from outside a company. Feedback highlighted that participants enjoyed learning through experience in a team environment that created new situations.

1. Teaching and Coaching
Innovation
NiTiM Seminar – Barcelona
April 25, 2014
Carla Riverola ‐ criverola@salle.url.edu
Nadia Noori – nadias@salleurl.edu

2. Teaching and Coaching Innovation ISPIM
Workshop
Focus
introduce and experience new techniques for teaching innovation to students
and practitioners based on games and group discussions
Organizers
John Bessant Anna Trifilova
(University of Exeter) (University of Leipzig)
Workshop website
http://ispim.org/groups‐communities/teaching‐coaching‐innovation/

3. An empty glass!
Can we fill it?

4. Recombinant Innovation
Infusion
of Ideas
Infusion
of Ideas
Idea
Crossover
Idea
Crossover
New
Product
New
Product
“Optimal Diversity: Increasing returns versus recombinant innovation”, van den Bergh, 2008
http://peer.ccsd.cnrs.fr/docs/00/64/30/25/PDF/PEER_stage2_10.1016%252Fj.jebo.2008.09.003.pdf

5. Design your own game
You ‐ innovation coach
Customer – software company
Need – “Open Innovation” training
course for management personnel
Resource
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_innovation#Models_of_open_innovation

6. Training course 1
GOAL: Open innovation. Benefit from outside ideas
Managers assume different profiles: customers, different
department, …
They will be give a product/service and think of what can they do
about it to improve the product/service given their profile.
– Produce ideas and validated through a brainstorming session
Incorporate other profiles not only customers to “play the game”
Ideas that come from outside the company may be also good
ideas.
!! BE AWARE THAT INNOVATION CAN COME FROM DIFFERENT
SOURCES – OPEN INNOVATION.

7. Training course 2
GOAL: When is it good to employ open
innovation and when it is not.
Game of the straws. Using simple material like
straws and irrigation system
Symbolize the metaphor of exporting ideas from
outside

8. Higlights
“Focus on learning through experience”
“People like that”
“Response of students is quite positive”
“Create team environments, break the ice”
“create new situations”

9. THANK YOU
More information and tools can be found on the
Innovation Portal
http://www.innovation‐portal.info/