From Research to Corporate Innovation Partnership

This workshop specifically addresses a critical skills gap prevalent among researchers today, particularly in the areas of negotiation, storytelling, business acumen, and strategic thinking. This “Value Translation Layer” is essential for overcoming the common challenge where industry partners fail to see the immediate ROI of for instance deeptech projects.

The four-hour program begins with “Corporate Intelligence,” where researchers learn to decode “Innovation Theater” and distinguish between genuine partners and “innovation tourists” who lack the budget or intent to scale research. Participants will then tackle the complexities of the corporate buying process, identifying key “buying centers” and stakeholder roles such as Champions, Blockers, and Budget Holders. Ultimately, the workshop provides researchers with a diagnostic toolkit, namely the Partnership Viability Scorecard and a Stakeholder Influence Map, to drive momentum and successfully navigate corporate hierarchies to successfully commercialize their research.