On Wednesday 20th November we had a great event “What is Innovation-Beyond the Buzzword” at our, Banbridge Campus with over 20 attendees. Our two speakers Alistair Fee, Visiting Professor of Marketing and Innovation at Queen's University Belfast and Garret Duffy from the Regional Development Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology stressed that if we challenge our conventional ways of thinking, we open the door to creativity and innovation.
Alistair introduced the concept of IdeaFlow that refers to the quantity of creative ideas generated by an individual or business over a specific period of time where quantity leads to quality. Therefore, to achieve better creative breakthroughs, one needs to generate more ideas to test.
Alistair highlighted the story of Casey Harris, a blind keyboard player for the band X Ambassadors. The X Ambassadors' song hashtag#Renegades became a big hit when it was chosen for a car commercial. The video for the song features disabled people accomplishing amazing feats, including a blind woman lifting heavy weights.
Alistair's key messages were:
· What drives your thinking?
· How can you make your business 5% better?
· What does your product really do?
· What words resonate with your product, write down 15 -25 words.
Garrett explained how he has been using the WKI model at the Regional Development Centre at DKIT. He highlighted the work of Simone Giertz who encourages people to question assumptions about how the world works and to think differently about problem-solving.
Garrett uses a coach's approach to help start-up or existing business, with a focus on "coaching at the front end of the funnel". He cultivates curiosity by asking "so what", "who cares" and "why you." These 3 questions form the foundation of the WKI model and can help businesses explore new possibilities and understand different perspectives.
Garrett's key messages were:
· Design needs to meet customers' needs
· Establish "where does your product fit?"
· Use images not words to explain your idea
· Start drawing your idea on a napkin
Ryan Mann, Innovation Technologist in Engineering at SRC introduced the Why Innovate? podcast that has just been released and currently available on
https://lnkd.in/eT2gGNB3. We welcome any feedback and suggestions at whyinnovate@src.ac.uk.
Brenda Kelleghan Innovation and Technology Manager at SRC closed out the event and encouraged attendees to ask for help with their business ideas. Ryan lead the group on a tour of the Banbridge Campus audio and visual facilities including the podcast production suite.
Thanks to our speakers and attendees.
