Digital Commons Network^™

A Crazy Little Thing Called Sustainability, Linda Steuer-Dankert

Research Papers

Achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN) in 2015 requires global collaboration between different stakeholders. Industry, and in particular engineers who shape industrial developments, have a special role to play as they are confronted with the responsibility to holistically reflect sustainability in industrial processes. This means that, in addition to the technical specifications, engineers must also question the effects of their own actions on an ecological, economic and social level in order to ensure sustainable action and contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. However, this requires competencies that enable engineers to apply all …

Going Beyond Intentions: A Methodology For Assessing Entrepreneurial Activity Among Engineering Education Alumni, Saul Garcia Huertes, Ramon Bragós Bardia

Research Papers

This research paper proposes a novel methodology for evaluating entrepreneurial activity among engineering education alumni using their public CVs as our main source of information. The objective is to go beyond measuring entrepreneurship intentions or mindset through surveys, and instead analyse actual career data to assess the impact of entrepreneurship education. The study utilises shared user data and employs GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) models to infer entrepreneurial activity that extends beyond job titles, delving into the specific responsibilities and achievements associated with each position.

Comicir- Commercialization Of Innovative Challenges From Industry And Research (Practice), Charlotte Norrman, Ali Moshfegh, Jeanette Engzell

Research Papers

At Linköping university, a model to facilitate impact and bridge the gap between research, education, and business creation, has been developed. It is named “ComICIR”, which stands for Commercialization of Innovative Challenges from Industry and Research. The model allows researchers, firms, and students to work in a co-creation process that are built on the following five steps: (1) research validation, (2) idea generation, (3) idea validation, (4) idea evaluation and, (5) innovation strategy. In the paper, we describe the model and analyse how challenges and ideas could be developed and experientially based pedagogical approaches could be adjusted in order to …

Sustainability And Innovation: Exploring The Relationship Between Sustainability And Companies’ Engagement In Innovation Ecosystems In The German Engineering Industry, Thies Johannsen

Research Papers

This study identifies sustainable companies in the engineering industry in Germany and investigates their engagement in innovation ecosystems based on varying collaborative formats and transfer pathways. To this end, 200 medium and large companies were interviewed. For the analysis of the data, the study operationalised sustainability and identified sustainable companies based on responses concerning their environmental, social, and economic performance. These results were then cross-referenced with activities within innovation ecosystems. Results are consistent with the state of research and indicate that sustainable companies are more engaged in innovation ecosystems than non-sustainable companies. This suggests that companies considered sustainable are more …

Addressing Long-Term Challenges In Energy For Sustainable Futures By Applying Moonshot Thinking, Andreas Sumper, Marc Jené-Vinuesa, Carlos González-De-Miguel, Maria Marin-Macaya

Research Papers

The rapid and exponential changes in our world require the education of engineers who can develop solutions to future and long-term challenges such as climate change. Exploration and innovation methodologies such as Futures Thinking and Moonshot Thinking have the potential to equip engineering students with useful tools and skills to build sustainable futures. To this end, the InnoEnergy MSc Energy for Smart Cities programme at BarcelonaTech (UPC) has developed a challenge-based learning (CBL) course that applies moonshot thinking to tackle major energy problems. This paper presents the methodology refined over three years of implementing the CBL course with second-year Masters's …

The Development Of A Lean Digital Construction (Bim) Innovation Framework For Irish Construction Smes, Marina Andreou, Barry Mcauley, Alan Hore

Conference Papers

The adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must overcome several challenges to succeed. Potential barriers include the need for financial resources, correct BIM guidance, and training. In recent years, SME organisations have investigated how the complementary application of BIM and Lean principles can maximise digital construction practices. For this approach to be successful, structured guidance is paramount. This paper presents the results from an extensive literature review that explores BIM and Lean capabilities, focusing on synergies and existing frameworks. Based on the results from the literature review, the paper suggests an experimental framework that …

Digital Challenges And Opportunities Of Addressing On-Site Productivity And Safety On Construction Job Sites: An International Perspective, Ahmed Hassan, Ankur Mitra, Mark Mulville, Alan Hore

Conference papers

The slow pace of digital transformation in construction remains an impediment to the industry’s evolution. Despite rapid developments in digital technologies, the vast bulk of data generated on construction job sites remains underutilised due to the limited use of real-time data capture. The diffusion of digital solutions in construction depends on successfully capturing critical real-time data that can inform and contribute to more productive work patterns and safer job sites. Nevertheless, the construction industry’s fragmented nature has segregated the digital solutions offered by technology providers from the volatile challenges facing on-site construction practitioners.

This paper will present the early development …

The Infrastructure Metaverse Already Exists, Ankur Mitra, Ahmed Hassan, Mark Mulville

Articles

The construction industry is currently undergoing a profound digital transformation, primarily driven by the innovative concept of digital twins. The United Kingdom's National Digital Twin Programme (NDTp) stands as a visionary initiative striving to establish a cohesive digital ecosystem wherein all forms of infrastructure, both existing and newly constructed, are replicated in the digital realm. Digital twins are not merely static visual representations; they serve as the cornerstone for a comprehensive information management framework that enables real-time data sharing. This data-sharing capability spans the entire lifecycle of construction projects. What makes this technology particularly powerful is its capacity to facilitate …

Engaging Students Through Innovation In Computer Science Education, Kamilla Klonowska, Marijana Teljega, Fredrik Frisk

Practice Papers

This contribution addresses how the innovation activities have been implemented in two bachelor programmes in computer science at Kristianstad University in Sweden. The goal of the innovation activities is to equip students with essential skills and abilities like developing technical and analytical skills, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity to prepare them in their professional role, to actively contribute to their workplace and work to identify and find innovative solutions to societal challenges. To achieve this goal, the programmes provide project-based learning to enhance the learning experience for students and, additionally, include the events like Imagine or Hackathon, where …

Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness: Antecedents And Outcomes, Jennifer Dann

Doctoral

This thesis brings together concepts from both international business and entrepreneurship to develop a framework of the facilitators of subsidiary innovation and performance. This study proposes that Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Alertness (SEA) facilitates the recognition of opportunities (the origin of subsidiary initiatives). First introduced by Kirzner (1979) in the context of the individual, entrepreneurial alertness (EA) is the ability to notice an opportunity without actively searching. Similarly, to entrepreneurial alertness at the individual level, this study argues that SEA enables the subsidiary to best select opportunities based on resources available. The research further develops our conceptualisation of SEA by drawing on …

What Makes A Great Strategy? Gea Farm Technologies Road To Smart Farming, Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. Senior management of the hidden champion gets approval for an accelerated acquisition strategy to boost growth and innovate the business model vis-á-vis strong competitors in order to lead and develop the market. However, the existing strategic management of internal technology development would be altered and a significant part of management attention would be shifted towards M&A as well as post-merger integration efforts. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and …

Iq-Pass: Accelerate And Upscale To The Next Level, Helen De Haan

Case Studies

European business environment has many specific market conditions due to the differences in terms of legislation, culture & language, business practices, etc. Many European companies are in the transition of combining digital transformation (apps, software and platform development) and their traditional industrial bases. Another trend in European business development is consolidation, i.e. merger and acquisitions. Small but very innovative companies can be easily taken over by larger companies. When such a small but innovative company becomes a business unit in of a large organisation after acquisition or take-over, maintaining innovation-based growth can be problematic. By understanding this dynamic and the …

Tesla Transformation And Hidden Champions: The Pace Of Innovation It The Only Thing That Matters In The Long Run., Jan-Philipp BüChler Prof. Dr.

Case Studies

After having internally invested significant amounts of time and resources into customer-specific development, the CEO of CoMaTec - family-owned and mid-sized world-market leader in the automotive industry - receives the contract for batch production from emerging electric automotive giant TESLA. However, the timing for the final development stage and start of production (SOP) deviates distinctly from all prior agreements. The tightened timing would put his company at tremendous risk. Should he accept the contract? Which mitigation strategies present an option for managing the emerging risks?

Entering The Next Level Of Value Generation: Servitization And Digitization For Industry 4.0 By Ifm Electronic, Robert Ciszewski, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr

Case Studies

Ifm electronic is a mid-sized wold market leader in sensor electronics for industry and automotive applications. The hidden champion shows an impressive growth trajectory in the last 20 years from around 200 mio. € to 1 bn. € in 2019. In this case study, the ambitious leaders of this company start to elaborate the strategy for achieving the next billion. Students are required to identify the drivers of growth in the past decades and evaluate the steadiness of this recipe for success in the context of major shifts and technological advances in key customer industries such as industry 4.0 and …

Gea Farm Technologies: Building Core Competencies Through Internal And External Growth, Jan-Philipp Büchler Prof Dr, Axel Faix Prof Dr, Gregor Brüggelambert Dr, Anna Weiland

Case Studies

GEA Farm Technologies is a mid-sized world market leader of mechanical equipment and service solutions for milk production and livestock farming. The so-called hidden champion developed a set of capabilities and core competencies to innovate the industry’s established business model through a two-fold strategy balancing internal and external growth. The case study invites students to explore the benefits and limits of this business model innovation and requires them to investigate further strategic options for growth.

Pro-Socially Motivated Knowledge Hiding In Innovation Teams, Rachel Hilliard, James English, Maébh Coleman

Articles

No abstract provided.

Circular Pedagogy For Smart, Inclusive And Sustainable Education, Lia Pop, Nadia Barkoczi, Lucia Morales, Jon-Hans Coetzer, Claudia Marian, Patrick Flynn

Working Papers

Higher education institutions seem to be engaged in a reactive process when thinking about education for sustainable development, instead of being proactive. A every stage, educational models remain very limited to specific goals and agendas driven by the fad of the moment and without articulating a sustainable educational model that we argue should be uttered within the concepts of intercultural competencies, smart, inclusive, and sustainable education where learners engage on a circular learning process as captured by the circular pedagogy for higher education. If the academic community is serious about driving actions that help us to enact change and impact …

Digital Entrepreneurship: Context And Conceptualization, Kisito Futonge Nzembayie, Anthony Paul Buckley

Books/Book Chapters

Recognizing how the lines between digital and traditional forms of entrepreneurship are blurring, this forward-thinking book combines digital technology and entrepreneurship perspectives to advance knowledge on this paradigm-shifting typology of entrepreneurship.

An Exploratory Study Of The Role And Contribution Of Absorptive Capacity Levels In The Commercialisation Of Knowledge In Knowledge Intensive Smes, Francis Martin Behan

Doctoral

Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) is a construct introduced by Cohen and Leventhal in 1990 to describe the process by which an organisation recognises and absorbs new external knowledge to increase its current stock of knowledge, thereby giving it increased capability to create value for its customers, stakeholders and wider society. ACAP, as a construct, has gained widespread acceptance within academia and the construct has been further refined and developed over the last thirty years. However, the application and testing of the construct, is in practice, still in the early stages of development. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate …

Using Sequential Mixed Methods To Evaluate The Contribution Of Absorptive Capacity (Acap), Anthony Paul Buckley, Francis Martin Behan

Conference papers

How might Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) (Cohen & Levinthal 1990,,Song et al. 2018) contribute to indigenous firm innovation and growth and how might the effects of this construct be evaluated at both firm and policy level? This paper demonstrates how a mixed methods research design and data analysis strategy can address the research question outlined above. Within the ‘mixed methods’ research genre, the design approach argued for here is for a ‘sequential mixed methods research’ approach. This is where one methodology is followed sequentially by another to add robustness to the overall findings from a study. The approach can also be …

The Sphere Of Influence Of Learning Development During Organizational Change In A Technological University, Roisin Donnelly, Patrick Flynn

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter explores a shared approach to leading on learning development and educational change in two existing colleges in a new technological university (TU) in Ireland. Considering how organisational change influences teaching and learning is vital but, equally, taking into account how teaching and learning responds and reacts to this change is a key outcome of the chapter. Through an exploration of the role of Head of Learning Development across disciplinary and college structure contexts, we want to convey a shared narrative of leadership in learning development in a changing environment and build on our emerging synergies to do so. …

Financing Early Stage Cleantech Firms, Sean O'Reilly, Ciarán Mac An Bhaird, Damien Cassells

Articles

T HE report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [47] highlighted the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strive for decarbonization in order to restrict global warming. The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, has a vision of accelerating technology development and transfer [92] in order to reduce harmful carbon emissions. The development of new and innovative disruptive technologies to ameliorate and reverse the harmful effects of carbon emissions is emphasized by governments and international agencies [6], [53], [59], [102]. Large incumbent firms are well resourced to conduct this research and development (R&D), although …

A Practice Perspective On Knowledge, Learning And Innovation – Insights From An Eu Network Of Small Food Producers, Clare Rigg, Paul Coughlan, Denise O'Leary, David Coughlan

Articles

Drawing on insider research with a three-year EU network created to support innovation in geographically marginalized traditional food companies, this paper makes three contributions to discussions of innovation in small and micro-firms. First, we shift focus away from conceiving of knowledge as a discrete entity, and of knowledge sharing, transfer and exchange as the passing of objects. Applying a practice perspective that conceptualizes innovation as situated in the everyday activities of organizing, learning and working, we extend open innovation ideas and identify three distinct sets of knowledge-creating practices that small and micro-firm actors in this network context engage in as …

A Flair To Remember: Innovative Use Of Technology During Covid-19 Focus On Weddings, Carla Rosas, Danielle Lynch, Mj Adekanmbi, Simioluwa Opayemi

Case Studies

Student blog series from MSc in Event Management students at TU Dublin.

In this blog post Carla Rosas, Danielle Lynch, MJ Adekanmbi and Simioluwa Opayemi interview event planner Gabriella Olukoya from luxury events company A Flair to Remember. Gabriella gives vital insight on the current state of the wedding industry and also on how to ‘flip the script’ and use the ‘negatives’ and make them positives to elevate an events company. As a current ‘Regional Finalist’ for Wedding Planner of the Year, Gabby is a prime example of ‘Creating Success’ during COVID-19 by adding and implementing technology into their events …

Frog Prince Weddings: Using Innovation And Technology During Covid-19, Aisling Yeomans, Ciara Croke, Ellen Foley, Maire Mohally

Case Studies

Student blog series from MSc in Event Management students at TU Dublin . In this blog post Aisling Yeomans, Ciara Croke, Ellen Foley and Marie Mohally interview Daniel P. Attard, senior wedding and event planner at Frog Prince. Daniel discusses the ways Frog Prince has used technology for internal communication while working remotely and externally to manage client relationships.

Assessing The Financial Mechanisms For Innovation Support In The Republic Of Uzbekistan: A Comparative Analysis Of Enablers And Constraints To Innovation Across Two Industries, Ravshan Rakhmonovich Khaydarov

Doctoral

Innovation is fundamental not only to individual firms but ultimately to a country's economic growth and stability. Innovation Systems assert that innovation depends not only on how individual firms and external actors operate, but also on the dynamics of their interaction as part of the system. While funding for innovation is a central theme of Innovation Systems models, there is a gap in the literature on this topic, particularly in regard to the role played by government in transition economies (Bruton, Su, & Filatotchev, 2018). The majority of the research has focused on micro/meso-level support, but there is a significant …

Conducting And Analysing Semi-Structured Interviews: A Study Of Open Innovation In Food Firms In Ireland., Anushree Priyadarshini

Articles

This case study examines the use of semi-structured interviews that I used in my PhD research as a method to explore open innovation in food firms in Ireland. Literature in the field highlights that exploring innovation and the extent to which firms are open and collaborative with people outside of their organizations in conducting innovation requires detailed understanding of the concept in its natural settings. To interpret or make sense of the phenomena in terms of the meaning managers bring to it, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with managers in Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, the food and beverage sector. Demonstrating …

The Expanding Business Of The Entrepreneurial University: Job Creation, Mike Murphy, Michael Dyrenfurth

Books/Book chapters

This chapter explores the role of universities in job creation. It does this by taking two approaches. The first is to look at how the university sees its role as expanding from traditional first and second mission activities to encompass third mission activities including industry engagement and how this supports job creation and economic development. The second approach is to examine how new jobs are created in a geographic region or country, and the role that the university can play in support of this. Typical third mission activities such as incubators, technology transfer, and science parks are also examined; including …

Digitally Engaged Consumers: A Multi-Level Perspective Of Higher Education Actors And Their Technology Readiness, Treasa Karney, Roisin Vize, Taeshik Gong

Conference papers

Advances in digital technology and innovation have fundamentally changed the way Higher Education (HE) communities, interact, consume and co-create value (Freberg and Merle 2016; Neier and Zayer 2015). However, differences have persisted between the potential of technology enabled learning and the less consistent realities of technology use within university learning and teaching (Henderson et al. 2015). Therefore, a key aim of this research is to examine how technology readiness of students influences their interaction, engagements, and value co-creation with staff. Through applying the lens of value co-creation, i.e. where value is co-created among actors through their active role of engagement, …

An Exploratory Study Of The Role And Contribution Of University Knowledge Transfer Offices (Ktos) In Knowledge Transfer And Value Creation, Anthony Paul Buckley, Paul Maguire, David Gardiner

Conference papers

Developed European countries place emphasis on innovation as an important growth driver. Higher educational institutions, within these developed countries, actively participate in regional economic initiatives to proactively transfer and commercialise knowledge to business and society. This knowledge transfer is now performed in a more direct way than heretofore and the commercialization remit is now regarded as the Universities 3rd mission. This is in addition to its traditional remits of education and research. This study explores the effectiveness of the University knowledge transfer process and the contribution that knowledge transfer offices play in knowledge transfer and commercialisation (Value creation).

This study …