April 2013 NUI Galway Host InterTradeIreland All-Island Innovation Lecture

NUI Galway’s Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change will host the 2013 InterTradeIreland All-Island Innovation Lecture, ‘Innovating With ‘Hard Constraints’: How Low Cost Innovation is Changing What We Do’. Guest speaker, Professor Gerard George, Imperial College Business School in London, will deliver the lecture on Wednesday, 24 April at 6.30pm in MY127, Áras Moyola, NUI Galway.

Professor Gerry Georgeis Vice Dean of the Business School and Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre at Imperial College London.  He has conducted extensive research into areas such as capabilities and innovation in new ventures and technology-intensive firms, organisation design and business models, and entrepreneurship and resources.

During the lecture Professor George will address the benefits of ‘inclusive innovation’, and discuss the emerging ways companies are implementing low-cost innovations. He will also address the need to transform a culture to innovate within constraints, and focus on the ‘principles of inclusive innovation’ to inspire discussion on how to radically transform innovation practices by placing hard constraints on design, development and delivery of products and services.

Professor George, who has conducted extensive research in o areas such as entrepreneurship, innovation and business models, says we need to radically transform our business practices to see businesses succeed. “When times are tough, businesses have to figure out innovative ways of broadening their market appeal and opening up new opportunities.  Low cost innovation is a strategic toolkit by which businesses can strip away the complexities of their products to focus on the core customer need.”

Dr James Cunningham, Director of the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway, said: “We are looking forward to Professor George’s visit to the Whitaker Institute NUI Galway to deliver a public lecture and master classes as part of the InterTradeIreland All-Island Innovation Programme. Professor George is one of the leading international taught leaders on innovation and entrepreneurship and his lecture will offer practical insights to businesses of any size in how they can undertake low cost innovation.”

This lecture will be of interest to established organisations and businesses, start-ups, government bodies, policy makers and anyone who is interested in stimulating the local economy. To register to attend, please visit the event website at http://www.conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=231

-ENDS-