Joint Sussex-Bocconi Intrapreneurship Hub blasts off with inaugural workshop
On 24 April 2015, an inaugural workshop held on the Sussex campus marked the launch of the Intrapreneurship Hub, a joint research initiative between the School of Business, Management and Economics at the University of Sussex and SDA Bocconi School of Management in Italy.
With joint sessions between academics and industry professionals on corporate entrepreneurship strategy, as well as keynote speeches from Prof Joe Tidd (Professor of Science and Technology Policy Research, SPRU), Prof Bart Clarysse (Imperial College London) and Dr Nino de Chirico (former CEO of Immucor), the workshop - titled ‘Meeting the challenge of corporate entrepreneurship’ - provided attendees with both the latest research findings and best practice in industry.
Over 50 attendees from across the UK, Italy, Austria and Finland showed a high level of engagement with proceedings throughout the day. The workshop was supported by the University’s International Partnership Development Fund, established to encourage strategic initiatives with partners overseas.
Prof Tina Ambos (Professor of Strategy, Department of Business and Management), who introduced the workshop, commented after the event:
“We were very excited about the inspiring debate between practitioners and academics. Our aim was to provide a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, and participants contributed with a lot of enthusiasm”.
Academic Director of the Hub Dr Monica Masucci (Lecturer in Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Department of Business and Management) said:
“The launch of the Intrapreneurship Hub marked an important step in the School’s strategy to enhance engagement with the business community. The Hub partners with industry members to advance the study and practice of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation across a range of industrial sectors”.
Industry participant Wolf-Dieter Hohl MBA (Head of Market Development, voestalpine Steel Division and Managing Director, voestalpine Eurostahl) added:
"Innovation is the key success factor for profitable long term growth. This intrapreneurship initiative is a good opportunity to analyse and optimise interlinkages and networks of the 'innovation producers' in a company and to create entrepreneurial behaviour based on personal leadership."
The interdisciplinary Hub team brings together significant competences in the areas of strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation, with expertise grounded in several years of academic research and industry collaborations. Built on the idea of delivering mutual benefit for industrial practice and academia, the Intrapreneurship Hub provides a platform to share the latest research findings and offers industry partners customised research projects, confidential analyses and metrics to assess corporate entrepreneurial performance.
With substantial experience in the area of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation, the Hub assists established companies to identify effective mechanisms to support the development of new business initiatives and innovative processes, enabling them to adopt robust managerial practices and stay at the forefront of innovation management.