Henry William Chesbrough, an internationally renowned economist and the world’s first scholar to promote the “Open Innovation” paradigm—a revolutionary concept that is transforming the world of management—will be confirmed as an adjunct professor at Luiss for the next three years.

With the presence of Professor Chesbrough—born in 1956 and currently Director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley—Luiss solidifies its position as a center of excellence in Open Innovation (OI) both nationally and internationally, ensuring strong continuity in highly relevant educational programs and applied research.

Henry Chesbrough’s chair will once again be funded by the Maire Tecnimont Group, an international engineering and technology player with deep Italian roots, as part of their strategic partnership on “Open Innovation and Sustainability,” which was successfully launched in 2019 and has been renewed for the next eight years.

The academic and industrial worlds are thus continuing their collaboration to support the evolution of business organizations in our country, with a particular focus on sustainability and the dissemination and promotion of open innovation models and best practices between companies and startups. Indeed, the OI phenomenon represents a new approach where companies should not only leverage internal resources but also tap into external technological tools and expertise through ongoing communication and collaboration with all stakeholders. The agreement between Luiss and Maire Tecnimont was strongly supported by the University’s Rector, Andrea Prencipe, and by the founder and President of the industrial giant, Fabrizio Di Amato.

“We firmly believe that the open innovation paradigm shouldn’t be just a topic of study; it should be viewed as a mindset and an organizational principle. This approach is key to building dynamic ecosystems where universities, companies, startups, incubators, accelerators, institutions, and public administration can all work together to create new synergies for the growth and development of our country,” stated Rector Andrea Prencipe.

Maire Tecnimont’s President, Fabrizio Di Amato , commented: “We’re thrilled to renew our partnership with Luiss University. We strongly believe in partnerships with Italian and international universities: combining the expertise of academia and industry allows us to revolutionize business development by fostering innovative ideas supported by technology. This alliance is a source of pride and motivation for us to contribute to the research and industrial application of new technological solutions, as well as to the training of tomorrow’s professionals. Innovation is essential for both promoting and developing new processes and products, and therefore plays a crucial role today in industrializing technologies that support the energy transition, both in Italy and globally.

The chair held by Professor Chesbrough—who recently published the book “The Future of Open Innovation” through Luiss University Press—reinforces the focus of the Guido Carli University on innovation and strengthens the Faculty’s internationalization process. Currently, 44% of new professors are from abroad, and in December 2021, the University launched a call to recruit an additional 19 professors from overseas, including 16 junior researchers.