Fostering Open Innovation at Roche Diagnostics International: A Framework of Academia-Industry Collaboration

Previous work showed a large gap between the desired level of interaction between academia and industry, particularly in the realm of project work. Social and geographic proximity were shown to be key proximity metrics for Roche Diagnostics International (RDI), when collaborating with academia. Therefore, this thesis considers the development of an academia-industry relationship framework, focused on the case of RDI and Hochschule Luzern (HSLU). Following open innovation and design thinking protocols, the problem space was explored with interviews and defining the team point of view. Key frustrations in existing relationships were a lack of structure, mismatched expectations and the difficulty to find a relevant contact. Moving into the solution space, Ideation and Prototyping workshops were held virtually with participants from both RDI and HSLU. Iterating on the outcomes of the workshop resulted in the following six prototypes: Platform, Governance Term Sheet, Project Pipeline, Project Proposal Form, Master@RDI program and Lunch & Learn events. The main benefits of collaborating are the exposure to new perspectives and talent acquisition. The main recommendations of this work are to implement a governance structure between RDI and HSLU, focus on student-workers and improve accessibility and visibility within the organizations. These learnings should then be applied to academia-industry relationships with other organizations.

Studienbetreuer: Michele Kellerhals
Preisträger: Schindler Elevator Ltd. | Large Project Division, für den besten Masterabschluss im Studiengang Master of Science in Engineering