Innovation hubs

An innovation hub or innovation lab within a large organization plays a crucial role in driving innovation and digital transformation. These hubs are often centers of creativity, experimentation and rapid learning, bringing together diverse stakeholders to collaborate and innovate. They operate in the following context:

• Accelerating innovation Large companies are often faced with complex organizational structures, bureaucratic processes and a culture that can sometimes stifle innovation. Innovation hubs act as catalysts, helping to speed up the innovation process by adopting agile approaches, encouraging risk-taking and fostering a culture of innovation.
• Cross-functional collaboration Innovation hubs bring together people from different functions, departments and hierarchical levels to work together. This cross-functional collaboration is essential for generating new, diverse ideas and integrating different perspectives.
• Rapid experimentation and learning Innovation hubs are often environments where experimentation is encouraged and failure is seen as a learning opportunity. This means testing new ideas quickly, learning from experience and pivoting if necessary.
• Interface with the external innovation ecosystem Innovation hubs often play a key role in engaging with the external innovation ecosystem, including startupsuniversities, industry partners, etc. They can facilitate open innovation, by tapping into external ideas and collaborating with external stakeholders.
• Digitalization and technology As centers of technological expertise, innovation hubs can help drive the company's digital transformation. They can explore, test and integrate new technologies, such as AI, big data, etc., into company operations.

An internal innovation hub in a large organization can leverage MARYLINK in a number of ways to stimulate collaborative innovation, facilitate communication and promote a culture of continuous learning:

1. Cross-functional collaboration thanks to Smart Spaces
   Smart spaces can be configured to create collaborative spaces between different departments and teams within the company. For example, a Smart space dedicated to innovation strategy could bring together managers from different departments to share ideas and collaborate on new initiatives.
2. AI tools for project management and ideation
   *GPT integration facilitates the ideation process by proposing new ideas, providing relevant information and helping to write convincing proposals. In addition, AI can help with project management, proposing tasks, helping to organize projects and providing alerts and reminders.
3. External Engagement
   MARYLINK can also facilitate engagement with external players, such as startups, industry partners, universities, etc. A Smart space dedicated to Open Innovation can enable external players to share their ideas and proposals, which can then be evaluated and discussed by members of the innovation hub; in particular with the various member profiles , partners with the internal organizations, and potential new contacts with external organizations.
4. Learning and development
   Thanks to its e-learning system (LMS), MARYLINK can foster a culture of continuous learning within the innovation hub. Online courses, webinars, group discussions, etc., can be organized to help hub members keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies.
5. Communication and networking
   The instant messagingvideoconferencing and collaborative groups MARYLINK's event functionality can be used to facilitate effective communication and networking within the innovation hub. What's more, MARYLINK's events functionality can be used to organize online events, such as hackathons, workshops, seminars and more.
6. Customization and integration
   MARYLINK can be customized to meet the specific needs of the innovation hub. For example, the page builder can be used to create customized web pages for different projects or initiatives. What's more, MARYLINK can be integrated with other systems and tools used by the company, ensuring a seamless user experience.

MARYLINK offers a complete platform for managing, stimulating and monitoring collaborative innovation within an innovation hub, while fostering a culture of learning and sharing.