Abstract
In this seminar, we propose a paradigm shift for innovation research. Until now, innovation has been an instrument at the service of a science. It was not a science in its own right. We teach innovation for business or innovation for engineering, for example. Innovation is never taught independently of the particular field in which it is sought to be applied. The paradigm shift we're talking about comes down to conceiving innovation as a science in its own right, of which technology, business, the natural sciences or art are all possible cases of application, without this list being limitative.
In particular, in this talk, we will demonstrate three principles of universality.
Firstly, the structure of the innovation process is universal. Secondly, at each stage, the characteristics of what we're looking for are also universal. Thirdly, the drivers responsible for progress are also universal.
These three results combined lead to the paradoxical conclusion that it is possible to describe not only what innovative people are looking for, but also how they are looking for it, at every stage of their journey, regardless of the particular domain in which they are acting. This conclusion, of course, has considerable practical consequences in each of the disciplinary fields considered.
