Practicing Open Innovation in the Advanced Materials Innovative Recycling Master

Europe needs to focus on innovation to move towards a sustainable and competitive economy and maintain it. Education is a key element of this shift., To this end, the two-year international Advanced Materials Innovative Recycling (AMIR) Master, focusing on the raw materials sector and led by the University of Bordeaux, has been created. http://www.amir-master.com/ The goal of the AMIR Master is to educate T-shaped professionals for the raw materials recycling industry with extensive knowledge on materials, science specialising in recycling and gaining good understanding of the related processes and the value chain as well as the concepts and tools for achieving innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability.

TECNALIA is delivering the Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship programme within the AMIR Master. This programme allows participants to grow their talent and develop the skills needed to create innovative projects. Participants are trained for the development and implementation of new projects, products or services that generate value in society, as well as leading the creation of new businesses and/or new innovative projects within existing companies.

Experience shows that solving real industrial challenges provides a new and effective way of learning as well as one of a kind opportunity for networking with companies and students. This open innovation practice brings fresh ideas and new approaches. And this is what is happening in the AMIR Master.

In March 20th-22nd, organisations involved in AMIR introduced their challenges to participants during the module related to Leadership and Lean start up. The proposed challenges were: “Smart bearings for bridges” and “Solutions for new multimaterial advanced joints applied to lightweight automotive structures”.

Working in teams, participants were able to identify opportunities in the raw material industry to create and develop business ideas. They were fully connected to the topics and generated ideas and worked on hypotheses to be tested with potential customers and stakeholders. [l1] This will happen in the following months and AMIR industrial partners will get their final answers at the end of May.

Participants are learning and training their skills on: 

• Understanding industry challenges and creating innovations to solve customers’ needs;
• Ideating products or services and applying the Lean Start up methodology and related tools;
• Being aware of the importance of having a clear business model, considering the market needs and the customer development process;
• Communicating the value proposition of a project in view of the targeted market;
• Practicing transversal skills such as leadership, teamwork and communication. 

For further information contact: Ana Arroyo (ana.arroyo@tecnalia.com). Transformation and Emerging Business Division

This master is partially funded by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Raw Materials