Ammon Salter – Mini Profile
23 June 2010
Professor Ammon Salter, Research Director of the UK Innovation Research Centre (Business School) on the risks and rewards of innovation.
What is the UK Innovation Research Centre (UK-IRC)?
The Centre is a joint venture between Imperial College Business School and the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge with the aim to further research and knowledge exchange on innovation policy and practice. UK-IRC involves a large-scale, research programme and a knowledge hub that seeks to engage policy-makers and practitioners about innovation research.
When did you first fully appreciate the importance of innovation?
When I was an undergraduate reading the work of English economist, Chris Freeman, and Austrian economist, Joseph Schumpeter. The study of innovation has many attractions, as it involves attempting to understand how new things come into being and are then modified and changed in use. At the time when I was studying for my undergraduate degree at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada was mired in recession, and the study of innovation seemed to offer the alluring prospect of a pathway to recovery.
What happens if companies aren’t innovative?
Innovation is risky, offering the carrot of spectacular rewards or the stick of destitution. But our economic system is diverse and, in many sectors, it is possible to survive and not be very innovative, learning from the innovations of others. What is really required is the ability to learn quickly, be flexible and be willing to accept a high degree of uncertainty. Of course, these skills are hard to develop for individuals as well as organisations.
Why does Imperial need a centre for innovation?
As a leading university of science, technology and medicine, it is critical that we seek to understand how ideas are translated into new products, processes and services, and how these innovations are used, adapted and changed in practice. The study of innovation provides a map for policy-makers, managers and academics to better understand how we can influence the future, by proactively shaping investments and decisions about the development and use of technology.
— Maryam Philpott, Business School
Tags: Business School, Issue 221, Mini Profile
Posted in College, Research | 1 Comment »
One Response to “Ammon Salter – Mini Profile”
-
Undergraduate business schools says:
It’s only through collaboration that we can further our understanding of any subject and as such this joint venture between two prestigious business school will only yeild good things. My only regret is that I am not at the college tobe involved…
