Innovation capability training with Volvo Construction Equipment in Korea
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 2nd October 2012
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BTH Product Development Research Laboratory is supporting their organizational partners to become more innovative in product development. A good example of that is the workshop that happened in Seoul, Korea this fall (Sept 19-21). Together with the research partner Volvo Construction Equipment, Tobias Larsson, Farnaz Motamediyan, and Andre Benaim developed a workshop to build innovation capabilities in Volvos innovation team, the iCoaches.
The workshop was well accepted and the discussions were constructive. During the first day Volvo set the tone discussing innovation processes and the iCoaches role. The second day was led by BTH and it included three main topics; Disseminating innovation, coaching and innovation measurements. The last day was co-hosted by BTH and Volvo CE and it used a conversation technology called open space to facilitate dialogue. The open space format allowed participants to express their needs, perspectives, and most important, to develop solutions that will help them to carry their work further and more effectively.
One of the workshop facilitators, Andre Benaim; It was amazing to see the response of the participants. They were engaged (despite the jetlag), and the theories and models we were sharing with them were perceived as inspiring for their work.
Beyond the success of the workshop, this was also a stepping stone in the deepening of the research partnership between BTH and Volvo CE. We feel that this was a great step towards building a trust relationship in innovation engineering with Volvo CE, stemming from our mutual history. We are looking forward to continue to support the iCoaches developing their innovation capabilities. One way to do that is supporting them to try out the theories and models in their daily work. Another way is to help them to find measurements that fit their needs and innovation goals., says Professor Tobias Larsson of BTH.
Related information
For more information, contact Professor Tobias C. Larsson, tobias.larsson@bth.se, Product Development Research Laboratory.