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07.07

IEEE-USA Launches an Innovation Institute

By Sharon Richardson

Innovation — the act or process of inventing or introducing something new; something newly invented; or a new way of doing things.

Innovation is the hot buzzword these days. But, is it easy to innovate? Actually, it seems like it — until your boss asks you to develop a new process for the way you do business; invent a new product that no one has every heard of before; or create a new service that no other company has ever provided for its customers.

To help IEEE members learn to innovate, IEEE-USA is launching a new Innovation Institute [www.innovation-institute.org] geared at training current and future business, academic and government employees responsible for the innovation of new products and services. Former IEEE-USA President Ralph Wyndrum, CEO and visionary behind the new Innovation Institute, says this concept came about from survey results that the IEEE conducted on its U.S. members. “The survey concluded that members were not satisfied with the benefits that they were receiving for their dues. Also, members in mid-career believe that they are being ignored by corporations who are not interested in helping them get the education they need to enhance their careers. They felt that their employers don’t want them taking classes on company time, nor do they want to pay for them to take classes after hours, or fund their membership in organizations like the IEEE," Wyndrum noted.

Further, according to the survey, our U.S. IEEE members believe that K-12 students are not prepared to enter engineering schools; and that companies are downplaying innovation and basic research and development. Wyndrum said that overall, the survey results showed evidence that U.S. IEEE members have major concerns about innovation and R&D. So, he stressed at an IEEE-USA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting the need to “preserve and keep the innovation process alive. We need an Institute.” IEEE-USA’s BOD unanimously agreed — and the IEEE-USA Innovation Institute was born.

The Innovation Institute’s mission is to offer programs designed to advance the preparation of leaders responsible for the innovation of new products and services, by sharing the experiences of successful innovators in a coordinated program of interaction, mentoring and networking. Further, the Innovation Institute aims to enhance the ability of technical professionals to respond to opportunities to integrate new and existing technologies with potential for new, customer-driven markets; develop the ability of technologically-oriented managers to refine operations in research and development, or production environments; enhance invention and innovation; provide opportunities for educators to both develop and share innovative approaches to achieving the goals of the Institute; and let members access the wealth of experience in successful innovations available through other IEEE member innovators.

The plans are for the Innovation Institute to hold forums — one and a half day workshops to be held regionally, collaborating with the IEEE’s U.S. Sections or Chapters. The innovation forums will involve small groups of 50 to 100 participants. Institute faculty members — IEEE members who have innovated successfully and who are willing to share their experiences — will play key roles in the forums. “The forums will be a place for people who want to be innovative, and also for those who have innovated before and need to learn more about innovation,” said Scott Grayson, IEEE-USA’s program manager for the new Innovation Institute.

“U.S. IEEE Senior Members will make up the Institute faculty. And those who don’t necessarily want to teach in the Institute, but are willing to share their personal experiences, will present case studies for forum discussions,” Grayson said.

“And what better place to go for experts than the IEEE, with its more than 220,000 U.S. members, who have been acknowledged as experts in their field,” Wyndrum added.

Forum participants will learn from their experiences, mistakes and best practices, and they will be taught how to create innovative workplace environments. Faculty will discuss innovative design, research, development, delivery, marketing and sales of new products, as well as legal and public policy. And Grayson hopes that as the Innovation Institute develops, IEEE members and forum participants will let her know what would be helpful to them to learn about innovation.

The Innovation Institute plans to develop an Innovative Network, consisting of a subscriber-based virtual community that provides online access to innovation practices, resources and mentors. Materials that come out of forum discussions will help develop the Innovative Network, which will contain other sources of information for Innovation Institute members. Other services in development include an Innovation Clearinghouse, a library of innovation resources, case studies, forum videos, articles and other such resources delivered through the Network; and an annual Innovation Conference that will focus on exceptional innovation examples and national innovation policy, as well as new faculty preparation and orientation.

“We are hoping that forum and network participants will eventually become members of our Innovation Institute academia who will teach the innovation process to others. These programs are already being taught on an academic level in business schools like Harvard and Wharton. Very few are in engineering schools. So the broader hope is that these programs will become a part of U.S. engineering schools,” Grayson said. Further, Grayson expressed that “the word is going out to industry and government, non-profits, for profits and academia about the program — because innovation occurs only if you have everyone working together to keep innovating.”

On 22 May 2007, IEEE-USA’s Innovation Institute, Employment and Career Services Committee, and Entrepreneurial Activities Committee co-sponsored its first webinar, A Primer on Corporate Innovation: Fundamental Skills for Stimulating Values-Driven Innovation, which offered techniques for relating to the role of innovation in your work; recognizing your own innovation styles; discovering the values that motivate your creativity; evoking the most unique contributions from others; and building a culture where the best ideas rise to the top. Webinar participants heard from world-renowned innovation author and motivational speaker, William C. Miller. Miller, one of Leadership Excellence magazines top 30 leadership consultants worldwide, addressed what innovation is; the role that innovation plays in your work; the relationship among learning, innovation and values; strategies of innovative thinking; and eight key success factors for corporate culture for innovation.

Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), Chair of the House Science and Technology Committee, stressed the importance of the United States becoming more proficient in innovation: “Unless we maintain our edge in innovation through a strong science and technology enterprise, the best jobs may soon be found overseas, instead of in our communities.”

To help the United States maintain its competitive innovative edge, IEEE-USA’s Innovative Institute needs U.S. IEEE members to help it succeed. IEEE-USA is calling for IEEE members in industry, government and academia to become part of the new IEEE-USA Innovative Institute. For more information, visit www.innovation-institute.org, or contact Scott Grayson at s.grayson@ieee.org, or Ralph Wyndrum at r.wyndrum@ieee.org.

Sharon Richardson is staff assistant for communications at IEEE-USA, and editorial assistant for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Digest. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.