• Individual inventors and technology developers
• Technology/innovation managers in government R&D centers and technology start-ups/companies
• Students with a strong interest in technology innovations and entrepreneurship

The heart of Innovation is generating insightful ideas and taking them successfully to the Market. The Innovation process itself is like a journey where we start by identifying an unmet or unarticulated market need. The Innovator translates that unmet need into an innovation opportunity and defines the technical problem to be solved. The Innovation evolves on its way through generation of new ideas, proof of concept experimentation and an incubation phase that strengthens the Idea. The destination is reached when the Idea is developed into a Product and delivered to the Market. The workshop addresses some of the key concerns of technology innovators:

• Improved Conversion - The main challenge of Innovation is that the conversion of Ideas into Innovation is very poor - this is primarily because of the many barriers that the Idea has to sail through to reach the Market. Is there a way to improve and accelerate the conversion of Ideas into Innovations?
• Systematic Innovation - We also realize that good ideas alone are not enough - these ideas have to be directed, defined and structured to result in Innovation. Can we develop a systematic framework for innovative problem solving?
• Accelerated Innovation - Is there a way to quickly access the collective wisdom of the great inventions of the past and build up further on that vast knowledge to develop breakthrough solutions?
• Reverse Innovation - What is the best way to quickly develop robust, affordable solutions for emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China) - (a) should we adapt technologies developed for the mature markets (US, Japan, Europe) or (b) start from scratch to develop new, innovative technologies customized for local needs and eventually take it to mature markets in developed countries?

Innovation Flow is the science of flowing Ideas / Inventions into Innovation. Innovation Flow provides a structured framework, systematic process and innovation tools to flow ideas into innovation. The development of Innovation Flow is strongly influenced by the principles and philosophy of TRIZ.

TRIZ is a popular, scientifically based inventive problem solving process. Companies that use TRIZ for innovation and new product development include GE, Dow, Honeywell, Intel, IBM, Motorola, Xerox, P&G, Samsung etc. TRIZ is based on the idea that there are universal principles of invention (referred to as TRIZ Inventive Principles) that are the basis for creative innovations that advance technology. Once these principles can be identified and codified, they can be used to make the process of invention more predictable. TRIZ is widely used today to improve products, services, and systems. It greatly reduces the time to produce breakthrough ideas and inventions (Darrell Mann, TRIZ Expert). The Innovation Flow Workshop is designed to help us to find the best information, tools, resources and strategies to help us utilize this powerful problem-solving and product development methodology in our organization.

Learn the basic concepts of systematic innovation using a TRIZ-based approach. Learn to implement a systematic process to:

• Create innovative solutions to complex technological problems
• Create strategic intellectual property around these innovative solutions
• Grow strong technical ideas or breakthrough inventions into successful innovations

• Inventors and technology developers
• Technology/innovation managers in R&D centers and technology start-ups/companies
• Students with a strong interest in technology innovations and entrepreneurship

• Full-day workshop includes lectures, group sessions, workouts etc
• Courseware includes handouts of reading materials selected by the instructor
• Certificate of participation from IPFACE
• Lunch/ tea/ coffee is included

Profile: Scientist and technology manager with strong technical expertise and experience in translating technical ideas into technology innovations. Experienced in identifying new technologies for potential business opportunities with a proven track record in 'Innovation for New Product Development'. Successful innovator track record with numerous granted patents, technical publications and presentations and the ability to lead global multi-functional teams with focus on delivery of business strategy. Technology scout for global ventures and business development.

Education: Ph.D (Indian Institute of Science, 1997)

Experience: 12+ years experience in Corporate R&D - GE and Dow

• Eleven US patents and one award-winning New product
• Recipient of GE's Edison Inventor awards
• Innovation Excellence Award (GE)
• Edison Excellence in Teaching Award (GE)
• IISc best Thesis award and Gold Medal

• Visiting Professor, Technology and Innovation Management, Symbiosis Institute for Business Management (SIBM, Pune) and Chief Mentor, Idea to Innovation Lab (SIBM, Pune)
• Mentor for Technology Entrepreneurs at MentorEdge and Power of Ideas

• Presentation
• Reading material
  • IPS_Tool_1
  • IPS_Tool_2
  • IPS_Tool_3
  • Innov_trickles.pdf
  • Life_straw.pdf
  • TRIZ_Principles.pdf
  • TRIZ_Tate_Domb.pdf
• Course evaluation report
• Report