“Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity,” stated Harvard professor Dr. Michael Porter, and years ago I heard Dr. Jennifer Blanke, a senior WEF economist, tell a group of business, academic and government leaders, “Innovation is a critical, critical issue for Canada.”

She suggested that Canada’s innovation performance could be improved with more collaborative business-education partnerships.

Working with SMEs to foster innovative global business tendencies in students

Given my career experience in international business, and my role teaching international business and innovation, I have tried to facilitate partnerships with local SMEs that export.

The objective has been to capitalize on students’ enthusiasm and international connections to enable them to gain valuable experiential learning opportunities while simultaneously providing the SMEs with global business opportunities and creative innovative input from up-and-coming young talent.

The results have been promising.

Assigning pairs of students with the responsibility of gathering research for a real SME regarding potential customers and competitors in previously unknown international markets is experiential learning that has brought benefits to all stakeholders.

The students had to be open-minded and resourceful to gather the intelligence. Then, they had to analyze the data and develop alternative action plans for the SME.

‘The market and competitive intelligence supplied by the Fanshawe International Business Management students has contributed to our new strategic plan and our ambitious growth targets in Europe and international markets,’ said Chris Jones-Harris Co-Chief Executive Officer, Jones Packaging Inc.

London-based Jones Packaging was one of our first SME-partners. Jones bought a small distributor of compliance packaging materials for multi-dose prescriptions based in the United Kingdom in 2005.

The company’s primary clients are pharmacies, and our project analyzed rapidly changing channel developments across Europe and around the world, the role of government legislation and regulations, and packaging requirements from country to country.

As part of the collaboration with Jones Packaging, the students were able to identify the emergence of attractive pan-European customer opportunities, which Chris mentioned was important and timely for the company.

Students gathered detailed research on over 15 countries, and helped Jones Packaging refine and focus its marketing efforts.

“We also learned about an innovative competitive development in Scandinavia,” says Chris. “Subsequently, we have invested in three new positions and are excited about profitable growth opportunities in Europe.”

The value of the program for Jones Packaging has been clear.

‘The hands-on, applied nature of the    Fanshawe College student research projects for FITT provided practical, real-life learning opportunities for the students, and real value for our business.’

How we can prevent the stifling of innovation

It is difficult to influence policy in a world of silos and hierarchies. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that our current education system may actually be having a negative impact on students’ ability to be creative and design innovative solutions.

Sir Ken Robinson’s presentation on ‘How schools kill creativity’ is one of the most watched TED talks of all time.

While teaching a course entitled Creativity and Innovation in Business, students were encouraged to investigate several different techniques to enhance their creativity. The class picked topics of interest and applied tools such as the Six Hats process for creative problem-solving formulated by Edward Bono, Mind Maps, a diagram used to visually outline information, Is – Is Not Tool and the Lotus Blossom technique to visually represent interconnected ideas branching out from a central idea or theme.

Amazingly, there were a number of students that were surprised to identify and discover their own styles of learning and innovating.

The majority of students were completely focused on ‘the right answer’ with little interest in exploring alternatives or seeking creative solutions. This perhaps reflects the increasing use of standardized tests and automated grading which essentially rewards process-oriented efforts to ‘study for the test’.

Consequently, I’ve added interactive exercises to the global business courses I teach to help foster innovation among the students. They investigate Michael Porter’s work on innovation and clusters as well as social innovation and open innovation. Students begin to realize the importance of looking for innovative solutions from outside of one company, and even trying to apply innovative techniques from other industries.

I also encourage students to experiment with various types of problem-solving/brainstorming techniques, including Synectics, Appreciative Inquiry and the World Café. These processes all involve a positive approach, seeking input from diverse perspectives and using a moderator to encourage participation by all stakeholders. These techniques were an important factor in many of the most important achievements in my career in global marketing and community-building.

Business professionals in virtually any industry can generate innovative solutions by testing one of these techniques and inviting participation from non-traditional perspectives.

Taking innovative learning into the workplace

Students are then required to apply the new innovative global business tools they developed and recommend creative marketing solutions for real businesses using social media and other e-marketing strategies.

Students have applied this learning to succeed in interviews, to prepare impressive case studies—which a number of firms are beginning to use as part of their selection process—and to succeed in the workplace.

Angela Davidson, MBA, Ec.D. is a graduate of the FITT-accredited program at Fanshawe College. She was recently promoted to Economic Development Officer for the City of Niagara Falls, and she is a prime example of how these tools can be used with great success to help young professionals in the real world, and subsequently help the companies and organizations for which they work.

“I am now working with medium and large businesses in Niagara Falls, and it’s definitely an exciting change,” says Angela. “

My work in the International Business Program is really paying off now!

Angela says the experiential learning at Fanshawe helped her to develop the capability to conceptualize different business models, work with B2B and B2C clients in a variety of industries, and help them identify emerging trends, opportunities and alliances.

Angela provides assistance to existing or prospective businesses and development projects in Niagara Falls such as; real estate and site selection inquiries from international companies looking to expand in Niagara, export market development with local Niagara companies looking to sell products world-wide, as well as consulting on expansion, retention and investment in new equipment with local and foreign-owned companies to assist them in their growth and business success.

Innovation soft skills

Most recently, I’ve been exploring alternative grassroots solutions for innovation with collaborative partners.

Johann Wong, founder of LondonInnovation Centre Inc., and I have discussed a vision to help create an ‘innovation education’ leader. This will offer integrated innovation curriculum and internship/apprenticeship opportunities to graduate ‘innovation-ready’ students who exceed the expectations of employers.

Johann is a respected colleague, serial entrepreneur and founder of LondonInnovation—a non-profit focused on the human elements that make change occur. Its vision is to ‘advance prosperity by fostering cultures of sustainable innovation’, through assessment tools, co-working space, e-learning and networking. By developing a collaborative network of individuals with complementary skills in digital marketing, international business, finance and other disciplines, there has already been progress to operating as an incubator to provide support to young entrepreneurial start-ups, as well as serving as an accelerator to emerging businesses.

Johann and I believe there is potential to add ‘innovation soft skills’ to other courses and programs. Most people think of innovation in terms of technology, social and business model.

Innovation soft skills focus on the human elements or soft skills that drive innovation, such as a person’s preferences toward risk and change, and their values and how well they know themselves.

This also includes their ability to integrate this self-knowledge into their relationships with other people and the innovation process.

Long term, we hope to explore certification with leading associations specializing in ‘innovation’ and/or international trade.

The capacity for human or sustainable innovation can be further enhanced by collaboratively working on social innovation projects and technology innovation in the private sector.

There is an opportunity for educational institutions to partner with other complementary partners to develop sustainable innovation and create competitive advantage.

The future of innovation in international trade

Innovation is an extremely important concept in a business environment. It is one element that secures the future of any organization, however many companies only generate resolutions by innovating when dealing with work problems and opportunities.

I believe innovation is going to be vital as current global organizations seek longevity and dynamic ideas as well as individuals who can to take them into the future.

What other ideas do you have for building a more innovative global business workforce for the future of the international trade industry?

Beyond the classroom, I’ve presented this model at conferences in North America and Europe, and it has even earned a Global Best Award. If you’re looking to get hired or move up to a new position in the field of international trade, these lessons can help you as well!

1) Focus on the skills employers need to compete in the global economy.

By encouraging my students to consider how they can solve the challenges of international firms by applying their own unique set of skills, experience and international trade training, I find that most of them make a greater effort in class and on their assignments. As a result, they learn how to develop and demonstrate those skills that are critical to compete in international business.

Canada’s global competitiveness depends on the ability of domestic firms to compete even more successfully in international markets. My experience working with entrepreneurs and corporate executives suggests there are pressing business needs that FITT-trained students can help solve.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ 20/20 publication surveyed Canadian exporters and found that the key constraints limiting their ability to export included a lack of time and expertise to develop new markets, and difficulty identifying new market opportunities.

This situation, while immediately challenging for the industry, offers great future career potential for individuals who are currently developing these types of skills.

2) Become an international trade research expert.

Students in my classroom work on major projects, gathering market and competitive intelligence to identify profitable export opportunities. To make the research projects even more meaningful, I connect students with local firms that are actively involved in international trade. Students work to identify potential customers, partners and strategic alliances. They research market-based needs to improve or adapt products based on a careful assessment of customer preferences in a specific international market.

The research process can be applied to any industry, and even to the students’ own career searches. Upon graduation, I remind them to treat their interviews just like research projects. Gather market and competitive intelligence on the potential employer and their industry. This research will help the interviewee ask meaningful and memorable questions about the firm’s competitors, market segments, industry associations and more.

3) Develop the ‘soft skills’ needed to succeed globally.

Employers frequently comment on the importance of ‘soft skills’, particularly as one of the key factors to distinguish between job candidates that are similarly qualified in terms of education and experience.

Consequently, I’ve adjusted my students’ assignments, activities and evaluations to provide learning opportunities for ‘soft skill’ development while working on real business case studies.

Written skills are honed with major projects. For example, the FITT business plan for International Trade Management is a great tool to help students develop expertise in clear and concise writing. The discipline to develop and edit a powerful (or compelling) executive summary is an absolutely critical skill for report writing in large and small businesses.

This is complemented by assignments to develop and improve presentation skills, teamwork, networking and asking insightful questions. On the first day in my international business classes, I encourage interactivity and set high standards for communication skills and effort. Students network with peers from over 15 different countries and are asked to interview a classmate, and then introduce their new acquaintance to the class. I encourage students to identify what makes them unique to a potential employer and provide suggestions to help them further develop their soft skills.

The extensive use of group work has been designed to address the specified needs of employers and to facilitate intercultural experiences and learning. Working in groups is not always easy, yet it is great preparation for a career in international trade.

4) Practice, facilitate and be a champion of innovation

The World Economic Forum confirms that innovation is one of the key components in a nation’s global competitiveness ranking. Canada’s innovation performance could be improved with more collaborative business-education partnerships and by recognizing that innovation is a multi-disciplinary activity, not just related to R & D.

Many senior business executives identify the importance of creativity and problem-solving for their new employees. Consequently, I’ve added interactive exercises to help foster innovation. Students investigate Michael Porter’s work on innovation and clusters as well as social innovation and open innovation. I encourage students to experiment with various types of problem-solving/brainstorming techniques including Synectics, Appreciative Inquiry and the World Café. And to develop critical thinking skills, many marketing assignments ask students to recommend new, cost-effective ideas to improve a firm’s business results with social media or other innovative solutions.

One key lesson is that “diversity drives innovation”. I believe that diversity is one of Canada’s strategic advantages. Some of the greatest successes in my own career were the result of collaborative brainstorming with a wide range of stakeholders.

Over to you. What other steps do you recommend for people looking to build hireable global business skills?