On April 16th, a group of students from BSI-Bocconi Students for Innovation had the
pleasure to join NIMS-Network of Innovation Management and Strategy for a workshop at
Talent Garden offices in Milan. Talent Garden is an Innovation hub, member of the Google
for Entrepreneurs’ network, which has more than 23 campuses spread around Europe.
The first part of the company visit included a tour through the offices where students had
the opportunity to see where several startups work in coworking spaces as well as having a
closer look into The Fablab, a research and development center which focus on prototyping
and it is available to the community members. The company also presented several training
programs that they provide through their Innovation School to new graduates or
companies. These programs can vary between full and part-time and the themes are
adapted to the current market needs.
The second half of the visit was dedicated to learn more about working methodologies.
Digital Transformation is one of the biggest buzzwords nowadays, being the key element
transformation patterns, which can follow a human centric approach or a data-driven
approach. It is crucial for companies to adopt working methodologies that are consistent
with the current market needs to be able to implement these transformations.
The first methodology approach was the Waterfall approach which relies on fixed scope of
action, fixed time and fixed resources. Later on, companies started to understand that the
individuals that were joining this type of companies where knowledgeable workers,
meaning that they could contribute by producing knowledge and improve the current status
quo. In order to leverage this situation, a different methodology was developed, the Lean
approach. The Lean methodology aims at eliminating time wasted, create knowledge inside
the company and put the consumers on the center of all processes. Thus, focusing on the
internal improvement. Consequently, The Agile approach emerged to complement the Lean
methodology, as an external overview should be incorporated. The Agile approach focusses
on interactions, customer collaboration and fast response to change.
The last part of the day was covered by a workshop where the concept of Design Thinking
and Value Proposition Canvas was presented and the two different groups that were
formed had to develop a “persona” and through innovation solve his pain points, taking into
consideration a given scenario and the gains that he aimed to achieve.
Overall it was an enriching experience that allowed BSI to once again dive into the world of
innovation and creative thinking.
Inès Tavora
Build Sustainable Innovation 