Jordi Albó, innovation and business generation at the MIT
By CyJ
On February 20, within the framework of the Innovation, Strategy and Growth seminar at Harvard Faculty House organized in Boston by Lead to Change with Xavier Marcet at the helm, we attended a module where we were able to delve into the functioning of the innovation ecosystem of Boston, where we were able to see first-hand some of its keys to success.
The module was delivered by Jordi Albó, Research coordinator at the MIT Media Lab and Chief Scientific Officer at the Lighthouse Digital Innovation Group initiative. Albó is a great connoisseur of the ecosystem due to his double facet as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab, as well as his experience in ‘business generation’ initiatives such as Lighthouse DIG, where he is Chief Scientific Officer.
In the module we were able to delve into the concept of the Innovation Unit of academic environments such as MIT, where work is done regardless of the maturity of the technology (TRLs) and based on their own funnel of development progress. This approach can give a certain position of advantage if we consider the generation of opportunities to build business.
On the other hand, we had the opportunity to test its innovation maturity assessment tool (IRT), developed by Lighthouse DIG, where it works on an ‘as-is’ approach (current state), and projecting an action plan focused on the future (to-be).
Another of the key ideas presented in the module was the widespread practice of ‘portfoliating’ in innovation environments, in such a way that, for a single initiative, different lines of action are naturally deployed simultaneously, and coordinated between them, which provides great advantages such as effort optimization and risk reduction.
With his work on innovation in the health environment, he opened up our eyes, especially with his vision of innovation and its implementation aimed at generating business.
