Kendall Square has been described as “the most innovative square mile on the planet.” The Boston Globe recently described the Kendall area, “the beating heart of biotech. And if Kendall is the beating heart, then MIT must be the aorta. …” But the discoveries from MIT extend far beyond biotech to include AI, ML, nanotechnology, advanced manufacturing, robotics, small satellites, 6G, and much more. The opportunities for interaction and cross-fertilization are unparalleled for companies and their executives that are flocking to the area, and the students and faculty of MIT, whose presence is drawing them. The close engagement of firms with MIT, spanning the full innovation cycle from basic academic research all the way to the marketplace, is enabling both MIT and firms to bring about breakthrough innovations.
Firms that intend to survive and prosper from the coming waves of innovation need to engage with MIT faculty members and students, and the stream of startups emanating from MIT’s laboratories. Yet, questions remain: How should firms do this? How do entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems actually work? What should executives be looking for? What roles should company representatives and executives embrace? How should open innovation teams be organized? To whom should these teams report and how should firms organize themselves internally to capture real value from their engagement with MIT and the surrounding MIT-Kendall Square Innovation Ecosystem?
Based upon years of groundbreaking research into the human and organizational sides of innovation, MIT faculty members and researchers, and members of MIT’s Office of Corporate Relations, will give foundational insights, and provide original and thought-provoking perspectives, into what works, and what doesn’t, engaging the MIT-Kendall Square Innovation Ecosystem.
Contact
Principal Investigator Tali Sharot