Guest Editorial
Streamlining Research in Dynamic Innovation Networks
Wolfgang Wahlster
Professor Wolfgang Wahlster is the director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern
Cycles of innovation in information technology have become so short that the classic distinction between research and development is no longer valid. Today, the old modelin which basic research ultimately led to industrial implementation via a large number of development stages in various organizationsis considered far too time-consuming. This outmoded production-line principle needs to be replaced with dynamic innovation networks that integrate publicly financed basic research, application development and product transfer in so-called Centers of Excellence.
It's also a fact that specialized centers work faster and are therefore more successful in the competitive world of research. One good example of this is the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), which is responsible for the entire innovation spectrum in this area. Since its foundation in 1988, it has been working closely with Corporate Technology at Siemens AG. To speed up the pace of innovation, DFKI runs simultaneous projects in the areas of basic research, applied R&D and product transferall under one roof. The projects are carried out by the same scientists working together in different teams. This approach is especially effective when it comes to developing, for example, the next Internet generation (see the article on the Thinking Web).
The DFKI Supervisory Board is dominated by stockholders from industry. In addition to ensuring DFKI's adherence to lean management structures and cost-efficient research, Board Members also work with the company's scientists to draw up roadmaps for future research. Here, a key criterion is the projected benefit to industry. Modern research centers such as the DFKI are organized as public-private partnerships and are closely linked with industrial research. Their work is strictly project-oriented, employee contracts are of limited duration, and management boards include representatives of both industry and the science community. Project work often produces industrial spin-offs. Furthermore, DFKI scientists are not expected to work solely as researchers until they retire; instead, research activity is regarded as simply the career phase that immediately follows a successful academic education. Young scientists are expected to do research in Centers of Excellence for a limited period of time in a business-friendly and project-oriented setting, and to follow this phase either by putting into practice modern concepts of education in universities or by implementing technology transfer in the world of business.
Public-private partnerships, project-oriented research, the establishment of Centers of Excellence, and bringing together the best thinkers from the worlds of science and business so that they can plan research roadmaps, scientific megatrends and strategic focuses in researchthese are the key components of the dynamic innovation networks that will help participating companies to maintain and improve their leading positions in key areas of information technology.