Reflections from the Innovation Marketplace: Industry Perspective

Following the recent Innovation Marketplace, we got in touch with Professor David James, Managing Director at Labosport to ask him a few questions.

David and his team were an integral part of Innovation Marketplace, directing the challenge and assisting the students when developing their own solutions.

The Innovation Marketplace tries to encourage students to think about the role innovation plays in enterprise and business. Do you think it achieves this?

“The Innovation Market Place is a real world experience of how innovation actually happens in business. The students gain a real world understanding of the practical constraints business operations, and they learn how challenging it can be to implement a successful innovation. Technological advancement is critical, but it has to be practical within the context of business operations.“

What are the benefits that participation in Innovation Marketplace have brought to Labosport?

“Labosport received so many benefits from taking part in the Innovation Market Place. The student groups analysed what we do and how we work, and this provided valuable fresh insights into some old problems. The student groups proposed new ideas and introduced us to new technologies thus enhancing our company knowledge. And finally, we met some really amazing young people who we would like to stay connected to for placements, internships, and employment.” 

Have you enjoyed taking part? What have you gained personally?

“We thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Innovation Market Place. A highlight was hosting a visit to our headquarters in Le Mans, France. The sun was shining, and the food and drink were plentiful. Our visit to the museum of Le Mans 24 hours was the perfect opportunity to have fun and to get to know each other better.”

How can we better bridge the gap between industry and Academia?

 “It is evident that industry engagement within university education is very important to prepare students for the world of work. My simple solution to bridge the gap between industry and academia is to ensure that each semester, students are provided with a meaningful industry experience. This experience could be a project (such as the Innovation Market Place), or an industry visit or similar.”  

 What advice would you give to future industrial partners?

 “Just do it.”