From September 15 to 17, 2024, more than 90 scientists and practitioners met at the Hamburg University of Technology for the Continuous Innovation Network (CINet) conference, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Under the direction of Prof. Tim Schweisfurth and Prof. Moritz Göldner, the participants exchanged their insights and experiences on the topic of collaborative innovation.
On Sunday, the organizing team welcomed guests to the Digital Hub Logistics in Hamburg's historic Speicherstadt warehouse district. In his opening speech, Prof. Göldner talked about the Hanseatic city's transformation from a global trade center to a modern hub for the exchange of knowledge and ideas.
After the opening of the conference by Prof. Mats Magnusson (KTH Stockholm) and Prof. Schweisfurth, the first day of the conference focused on a lecture by Prof. Elke Schüssler (Leuphana University). She explained how the right organization of co-presence, i.e. an openness to interaction beyond mere presence, can promote creative collaboration. Prof. John Bessant reviewed the beginnings of CINet, before Prof. Göldner presented an analysis of the 1,570 abstracts submitted over 25 years of CINet and showed the development of participant numbers, topics and methods. Conclusion: “The main topics in recent years have been the digitalization of innovation processes, sustainability and circular economy, as well as creativity and open innovation.”
In the subsequent sessions, researchers presented their current work and were able to exchange valuable feedback. In the evening, a boat trip to St. Pauli encouraged informal exchange, with the TU's own beer “Campus Perle”, brewed by TU students, on board.
On the second day, further specialist lectures were on the program. The jury honored two outstanding contributions: one by David Pacuku and Christina Raasch for their paper “Disentangling the Effects of Idea Novelty and Mere Exposure on Idea Evaluation”, and the other by Giulia Palombi, Francesca Bellesia and Paola Bellis for their research on the role of artificial intelligence in innovation processes. Finally, the participants visited the Steinway & Sons manufactory and gained insights into the precision craftsmanship involved in piano-making.
Next year, CINet invites you to Lucerne. More information can be found on the conference website.
