Harvard Professor Stefan Thomke visits the IIM

On 17th of March 2022 the Institute for Innovation and Industrial Management received a high-ranking visit from the Harvard Business School. William Barkley Harding Professor of Business Administration Stefan Thomke was awarded an honorary doctorate from Graz University of Technology in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements in the field of innovation management. His research results in the field of business experimentation make Stefan Thomke a worldwide recognised authority in the field of innovation management. Among many other publications, Prof. Thomke is the author of the book "Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments", which was published in 2020 and named one of the "Top Ten Technology Books of 2020" by Forbes Magazine.

Prof. Thomke worked together with numerous companies in the areas of product, process and technology development, customer experience design, organisational change and innovation strategies. For many years now, he maintains a relationship with TU Graz and also supports it through knowledge exchange with the department of Business Economics. Among other things, Prof. Thomke is the idea generator for the Harvard Case Study Teaching Seminar Room at the Institute of Innovation and Industrial Management.

In the course of his stay at Graz University of Technology, Prof. Thomke was also available for a guest lecture as part of the course "Enabling Innovation" at our institute. 50 students from different fields of study had the opportunity to attend the exclusive lecture in the Schumpeter Laboratory for Innovation.

In the evening a meet & greet was held at the Schumpeter Laboratory for Innovation, where the IIM staff had the opportunity to talk to Prof. Thomke and a group of special guests.