Innovation styles - from Shanghai to Silicon Valley

How do people differ in their approaches to innovation management depending on where they live? What effects do the respective economic and cultural environments have on a country's innovation climate? Why is it that certain factors that have a favorable influence on the innovative potential of businesses in some regions tend to be harmful to innovation in others?

The new Global Innovation Expert certificate program will provide answers to exactly these questions. Spending three days each in Shanghai (Asia), Vienna and Silicon Valley (USA), participants will learn everything there is to know about the special characteristics of the local innovation cultures under the guidance of leading experts. In addition, they will be able to develop their understanding of best practices by working on concrete examples with like-minded peers from around the globe. The Global Innovation Expert will launch in October 2016.

The Global Innovation Expert has been developed over several years in collaboration with renowned innovation experts from Asia, Europe and the USA. Led by Dr. Ludovit Garzik, Founder of Innovation Orbit and Managing Director of the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development, and offered in partnership with the WU Executive Academy and Shanghai University's School of Management, the program is designed to set new trends on the global innovation market.

The WU Executive Academy's dean, Prof. Barbara Stöttinger, is convinced of the benefits of the program: "Innovation is the key to success—this applies to innovation in business, technology and research as much as it applies to innovation in terms of content. If you want to be successful at the international level, you have to know the rules of the innovation game. The Global Innovation Expert will provide students with the necessary subject-matter expertise and local know-how to meet this challenge."  

Nine days, three continents

"The Global Innovation Expert is the only program of its kind in the world. By providing executives with the necessary tools and skills to understand the differences in innovation around the globe, it will enable them to manage their businesses even more efficiently, and because it will be attended by handpicked students from a wide range of regions and industries, the program will offer an excellent opportunity to build a strong network that participants can benefit from also after their training," says Dr. Ludovit Garzik.

In just nine days, students will develop a thorough understanding of the specific differences between the innovation cultures in Asia (Shanghai), Europe (Vienna) and the USA (San Francisco). Under the guidance of innovation experts from these regions and from businesses like Alibaba or Huawei, they will explore the hot topics in global innovation management, including industry 4.0, innovation ecosystems, the global chain of innovation or investment strategies.
Prof. Nikolaus Franke, the head of WU Vienna's Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and one of the lecturers of the Vienna-based module, stresses the special nature of the program:
"The Global Innovation Expert will offer a unique experience. Leading academics from Shanghai University, WU Vienna, Copenhagen Business School or the Stanford Research Institute will provide participants with the latest insights, and renowned innovation experts from Silicon Valley will share best practices with them - who accepts the challenge of meeting the future today? This intense experience and the resulting network will benefit students for a long time."