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“Solomon’s powerful presentation illuminated how advances in technology, especially big data, is providing serious threats on a global stage…Looking at the opposite of what is normally expected can be a powerful way of generating an alternative view.”
Professor Solomon Darwin’s presentations have sparked a high-level of interest from students and faculty members on the topic of Open Innovation at Lancaster University Management School, leading to his conferment as the Honorary Professor on the faculty at Lancaster University, an acclaimed university ranked as one of the top 1% of business schools in the world. Lancaster University is increasingly recognized as one of the leading universities in the UK for the support and engagement with Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Dean Eleanor Hamilton of Lancaster University Management School congratulated Professor Darwin for this significant appointment and is excited for Professor Darwin to lead the efforts in joint publications of business cases relating to Open Innovation in conjunction with Berkeley Haas.
Lubica Strakova, LUMS programme manager for Lancashire Forum, raves: “This workshop is a fantastic and rare opportunity for Lancashire-based companies to work with one of the world’s leading experts in Open Innovation. Participants will learn how small and medium-sized companies are able to embrace and benefit from Open Innovation in order to secure company and job growth.”
In his first captivating lecture at Lancaster, Professor Darwin presented on Open Innovation and Open Business Models, discussing the current disruptions in the marketplace by suggesting strategies for how companies could cope with the changing landscape. Suggested solutions included the relevance of Open Innovation as a practical solution and the importance of joining or creating communities and ecosystems to sustain the enterprise. In addition, Professor Darwin touched upon a course he teaches at Berkeley Haas, Building Smart Cities Leveraging Open Innovation, which explores what a business model of the up-and-coming Smart City should look like. Professor Darwin also emphasized the importance for government entities, universities, and enterprises to work together for sustainable growth in his presentation, Triple Helix Leveraging Open Innovation.
On Wednesday, Professor Darwin presented an intriguing session on the Dark Side of Open Innovation to Lancaster University faculty members and students of entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy. The moderator of this session, Ian Gordon, commented, “Government policy in the UK pro-actively encourages the business sector to be innovative. However, the other and darker side of innovation is seldom considered. Solomon’s powerful presentation illuminated how advances in technology, especially big data, is providing serious threats on a global stage…Looking at the opposite of what is normally expected can be a powerful way of generating an alternative view.”
With a constantly evolving healthcare system, representatives from England’s National Health Service (NHS), the largest employer in the UK, appreciated Professor Darwin’s lecture on the Dark Side of Open Innovation, which illustrated a future outlook and new business model solutions for healthcare. Workshop attendee, Dr. Ricardo Zozimo said, “the range and depth of information provided by Professor Darwin shone a light on a worrying global increase in crime.” The NHS also praised Professor Darwin on his one day workshop, Exponential Innovations & The Changing Landscape, which delved into the disruptive nature of emerging business landscapes of six industries: communication, transportation, education, manufacturing, finance, and healthcare; Professor Darwin explained why large firms are currently failing and how business leaders can adapt to disruption. Concerned about the future of healthcare and its business models, the NHS is looking new ways to innovate and looks forward to collaborating with Garwood Center to learn more from Professor Darwin and other Berkeley Haas faculty members.
Without a doubt, Berkeley Haas’ Garwood Center and Professor Darwin are excited to partner with Lancaster University and their growing interest in Open Innovation.
By: Cindy Ma