DIGITAL SERVICE FOR STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION (DSSHED)

Digital Service for Students in Higher Education (DSSHED) is an innovation platform for the creators of next generation products and services. It was founded by the Ingenious Investment Group (IIG). The objective of DSSHED is to boost multidisciplinary agile innovation culture and encourage entrepreneurship in its catchment region. DSSHED provides students and companies with a collaborative and multidisciplinary innovation environment where students from three regional universities create demonstrations of novel service and product concepts coming from companies. Offered by higher education institutes, DSSHED gives multidisciplinary student teams the opportunity to develop demo products and services based on company concepts. Companies ranging from local SMEs to international large-scale enterprises as well as public organisations collaborate with the teams.

The development of DSSHED in late 2008 coincided with the publication of a new innovation strategy for the country to improve its competitive position in R&D markets given increased competition from emerging countries including China and India. The countrys National Innovation Strategy (2008) identified that around the world, leading edge companies are involving consumers in product development. Enterprises are even processing previously unrecognised needs together with users, thus influencing the emergence of a completely new kind of market. Various forms of open and public innovation activity are gaining ground alongside traditional closed innovation activity. Policies must create the preconditions for the emergence of open innovation environments. DSSHED is part of a project which aims to facilitate new business, services, innovation and creativity.

The IIG was established to accelerate this growth by promoting interaction among representatives of different sectors in order to develop new creative concepts. Great potential is seen in the commercialisation of creative trades especially in culture. The goal of the Ingenious Investment Programme is to strengthen the cultural industry and to elevate it to one of the most significant trades in Tampere. The practical implementation of the Ingenious Investment Programme is performed in three selected thematic areas: the creative industries, innovations and entrepreneurship and attractive city. Each theme has its own individual goals that guide the selection of projects to be implemented.

The programme was funded through budget a budget of 200,000 to 300,000 per year by the local government authority. Actions have been taken to ensure that all players in the region have been included and involved in development of the project from the beginning. Ensuring that DSSHED is maintained as a neutral ground resource for all local universities gives each the confidence to fully participate in activities and support innovation activities. Involvement from all participants is voluntary. The value for participants must be clear and present. By establishing the digital service, which is open to all disciplines, and creating solid tools and methods, which are universal, the digital service is expandable and has proven to be a valuable tool for many industries.

Financiers and DSSHED facilitators work together to monitor the status and results of projects and the DSSHED environment as a whole. Some of the key figures from the first two years of operations include:

More than 500 students engaged:

More than 30% international students

72% of students involved seriously consider becoming entrepreneurs.

More than 110 projects delivered:

96% of completed projects licensed by project partners

More than 10% of students headhunted

New start-ups, Protomo teams and co-founders

500,000 rewards to students.

The DSSHED project won the 2010 Regional Innovation Award from the Assembly of European Regions. The key results of DSSHED highlight the engagement of over 500 students in developing product and service concepts with project partners and with over 110 projects completed or in development. As a result, 96% of results are licensed, new jobs have been created and new companies have been established. Within the project, in excess of 500,000 has been awarded to students.

In order to sustain the growth and future of DSSHED, steps are being taken to integrate innovation projects into the core university course structure. These include offering dedicated DSSHED courses integrated into the curriculum, thus offering students from all local universities the chance to work in multi-disciplinary teams with support from professors and industry professionals. The New Factory concept helps to ensure that results and products created in DSSHED will have a path for continuation and development into business-creating concepts. Furthermore, national and international networks are being created to both generate talent flows between regions and to create maximum value for the players involved and partner companies.

DSSHED operates on a region-wide basis with three universities engaged in the project. The range of stakeholders involved in the project is important with the project being managed by Hermia Science Park and funded through local authorities. The project also operates on a limited budget enhancing the overall value of the achievements and impacts. The role of the students is central to the success of the programme. It is their commitment to team working, problem-solving and creating demonstrable solutions that enhances the delivery of the project with the support of industry mentors and DSSHED staff.

The development of DSSHED and its open innovation approach has been further enhanced with its integration into the New Factory platform which also includes Protomo and Suuntaamo as innovation approaches that respectively support the development of innovative ideas by entrepreneurs and business professionals and the engagement of citizens in innovation, product and service development.

The establishment of DSSHED as a neutral ground location, not dependent on any one partner or university, has allowed flexibility in growth and has given confidence to potential new partners when joining. Running in a cost-efficient and agile manner has allowed quick reactions to changing environments and events. Focusing on producing concrete demo results has helped to lead a change in the mind-set of innovation thinking in local environments. It has also helped to change some minds to an entrepreneurial point of view. The implementation of the project has been resource-intensive and a continuing development process. Positive development has required a regular cycle of evaluation and adjustment to methods and tools.

The DSSHED project approach is highly transferrable to other industry-university settings. The key features that should be considered are the neutral location (not in the university, not in a business), the approach to ownership of results - balancing industry and student perspectives and the staffing of the facility. The development of the New Factory open innovation platform also provides for transferability with its Protomo and Suuntaamo programmes alongside DSSHED, adding value to the open innovation support offer. (15 Marks)

CASE TWO QUESTIONS:

Drawing on your knowledge of strategic management concepts, analyse the DSSHED case under the following areas:

1. The main strategy underlying the DSSHED venture by Ingenious Investment Group (IIG). Justify your choice of strategy.

2. Explain the method of monitoring and evaluation applied and justify your answer

3. Explain how the programme will be sustained and identify the key success factors.

4. Identify any strengths and weaknesses.