The time for innovation in higher education is now

This month, Concordia University is launching its Innovation Lab, a bold move to support students to become skilled and confident innovators who can turn ideas into solutions that make the world a better place. The Lab is one response to the era of profound changes arriving at dizzying speeds, prompted by the growth and spread of artificial intelligence and by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Such exponential changes exacerbate inequalities that were already present in our system, such as the skills and pay gap in our labour market. Highly skilled workers are in demand, while the demand for lower skilled workers continues to decrease, with little attention given to the malaise of the shrinking middle class, which used to be a measure of a nation’s progress. In this turmoil, Canada wants to build a nation of innovators because the country recognizes that the path to dealing with rapid change is through recognizing that “innovation fosters a thriving middle class and opens the country to new economic, social and environmental possibilities.” Research and innovation in universities across the country help the world become a better place and improve the quality of life of Canadians. However, let’s face it, innovation in higher education is an uncomfortable discussion. Money for nothing and no ROI leaves innovation in universities in dire straits A recent AUTM report reveals a gloomy picture about innovation in universities. The large sums of money invested in innovation get very little return on investment. In 2018, $4.5-billion in research and development yielded slim revenues of $54.4-million in intellectual property—merely 1.2 per cent in return on investment (ROI). This is disappointing. This report omits that much of the university’s mission consists of training highly qualified personnel in rich and authentic contexts such as those offered through funded research. Also, innovation in universities is not only about R&D and it should not only be the only measure we use to say if they do well or not. When it comes to measuring the value of innovation in universities, we have to remove the blinkers of R&D and intellectual property (IP) and start looking at it from a systemic perspective. Traditionally, universities were places where students came to gain knowledge and where professors conducted fundamental research with the purpose of contributing to a body of knowledge that could serve an industry or society, or not. This has changed with the current funding structures, and universities are taking quantum leaps, while conserving antecedent gains from their traditional roles. Indeed, universities are filled with support structures and programs that enable teaching and learning, and research. But there are also ongoing transformation-savvy groups and communities of practice that are self-organized. Through punctual events such as seminars, conferences, workshops, competitions, and bootcamps, these groups push the boundaries of knowledge, they ideate, and accelerate startups, and can benefit from mentors, investors, and alumni networks. Innovation ecosystems in research universities are habitats for people and groups who embrace various innovation directions. On a daily basis, information and knowledge flow between individuals, units, and across the groups that compose the innovation ecosystem. These exchanges exist through panels, conferences, brainstorming sessions, and a variety of thematic events that bring interdisciplinary groups together. The challenge is to create structures with porous membranes that allow mentors, partners and collaborators from the outside to interact with students and groups on the inside. Why an Innovation Lab? The purpose of the Innovation Lab at Concordia University is to offer a non-competitive, risk-free, and failure-positive playground environment where students and partners play, take risks, fail, experiment, test, iterate, learn, network, and develop key skills for the 21st century, in ways they could never conceive of in a classroom setting. The lab functions in collaboration with various units within the Concordia University innovation ecosystem, with partners and mentors such as Dawson College, Collège Saint-Sacrement, Momentum Labs, and Maison des Jeunes, who work alongside students. Our aim is to use the lab as a springboard to launch students onto their desired path, with an innovative mindset. Universities must make conscious efforts to bring together various instances of innovation on campuses to contribute to enhancing the student experience, curating challenges, offering stimulating exchanges during open lunches, and building skills through workshops and matchmaking events with the purpose of offering opportunities for creative collisions that can help foster a nation of much-needed innovators. Ann-Louise Davidson is the director of the Concordia University Innovation Lab, Concordia University Research Chair in Maker Culture, and associate professor in the Department of Education. Nadia Bhuiyan is vice-provost of Partnerships and Experiential Learning and professor in Mechanical, Industrial, and Aerospace Engineering at Concordia University. The Hill Times