In the interview below, he explains his opinion on the role of Imagineering for the future and promotes his forthcoming book called 'Leapfrogging'. In his book Soren Kaplan will enter up on how to 'leapfrog' over assumptions to gain new (business) opportunities to come.

This year's master-students will meet Soren Kaplan again during their study trip to the world's center of innovation: Sillicon Valley, US.

As their website states: "The conference is designed to bring together an international group of psychotherapists, educators, researchers, community and business consultants who work from social constructionist and collaborative practice perspectives."

Celiane will be participating in the 3rd plenary session, about Collaborative Action Across Culture and History, along with Eduardo Villar and, an author of one of the books used in the Master in Imagineering course, Kenneth Gergen. She will also coordinate a workshop along with Sheila McNamee and Murilo Moscheta called Collaborative Practices in Health 2.0.

If you are interested in participating in the conference, go to the website and register.

Associate Professor in Imagineering, Diane Nijs, will be participating in the Designing Business Conference that will be taking place in Barcelona, Spain from Wednesday 16th of November to Friday 18th of November of 2011.

The aim of the program, as stated in the conference’s website is “develop the next generation of business innovators and designer entrepreneurs who can act as agents of change in the organizations they join and the new ventures they establish.”

Among the many distinguished participants will be Richard Buchanan, from Carnagie Mellon, and Muhammad Yunus, winner of the Noble Peace Prize for Grameen (institution that provides microcredit) in 2006.

The topics in the conference will be: design thinking versus designing; processes and models of designing business; potentials and limits of design thinking; managing designing: what works and what doesn’t; educational frameworks for designing business; do we need designing managers or managing designers?; designing social business and the difference to designing business.

On Friday 04th of November 2011, the graduation ceremony for the first students of the 2010/2011 edition of the Master in Imagineering program took place at the Hopmansstraat location of the NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences.

In a very cosy evening that featured the participation of Associate Professor in Imagineering, Diane Nijs, along with the Director of the Academy for Leisure, Ger Pepels, and the special guest speaker, Dr. Christopher Schillings, Innovation Manager at Bayer MaterialScience.

In celebration of the special occasion this graduation represented (the fifth graduating class of the Master in Imagineering), each graduate received a special Butterfly Award, symbolizing both their personal transformation and the conceptual tie with complexity theory.

Congratulations to Maartje Damen, Michel Brokke, Michelle Verhoeven, Sebastian Spichala, Itamar Olimpio da Silva, Andy Bunarto and Eveline Henskens!

On Wednesday September 7, associate professor Diane Nijs worked with the management team of the City of Antwerp in their 2-day strategic meeting held in Halle-Zoersel (Domein MArtinus). 

Other speakers were Professor Thomas Block (University Gent), Professor Herman van Goethem (University of Antwerp), Professor Patrick Kenis (Dean Antwerp Management School), Philippe De Ridder (Board of Innovation) and Lode Vermeiren (System Engineer BeLux, VMware). 

Diane gave a presentation on ‘Seeding the future’ as an alternative approach to strategic planning in highly complex contexts. In her PhD research, Antwerp is one of the longitudinal cases that are analysed on ‘organizational emergence’.

A new edition of the Master in Imagineering program started in late August, with 14 eager students hungry for knowledge on tackling complex problems through the Imagineering methodology.

The students represent a wide range of backgrounds, both cultural (coming from Bulgaria, Austria, Indonesia, Uruguay, Singapore and The Netherlands) and educational (coming from varied Bachelors programs spanning Design, IT, Commerce, Tourism, Leisure, etc.)

A New Executive Path

Alongside the start of our 6th edition of the Master in Imagineering, we began an Executive Master in Imagineering program running parallel to the regular program.

Executives from Starwood Hotels, Dolfinarium, Avans Hogeschool, NHTV and Mostert Consultancy for Creativity and Innovation Management.

This new path allows for an interaction between participants in both programs (executive and regular master) that enhances the learning process of co-creating knowledge promoted by the Imagineering Academy.

She details the event and a little bit on the subject in the following piece:

 

Imagineering and livestock?

HAS Den Bosch is a higher education institution with a focus on Agriculture, Food and Nature. They are developing a new study programme which is called; International Food and Agribusiness. The world food problem is a central issue in this programme. Since my research concerns this study programme my coaches invited me to the: Maatschappelijk Café “Meer waarde creëren én onze wereld voeden?” (very roughly translated to: “Create more value and feed our world?”) .Organized by Schuttelaar en Partners, a consulting agency with a focus on sustainability), to broaden my perspective about this issue. 

Next to several lectures of professors from the University of Wageningen and the procurement director from Sara Lee international, there was a debate held during the Maatschappelijk Café “Meer waarde creëren én onze wereld voeden?.” In this debate several issues were discussed considering livestock and creating valuable food concepts in a world where the population is growing tremendously and where the available land, for agricultural purposes, becomes scarcer.  It was an intense debate due to the complexity of this problem. 

At one point I decided to give my opinion as well. I enounced my Imagineering perspective on these issues, which were valued by the audience. Apparently the judges were also impressed by my input, as they were enlightened by my insights on the topic and my opinions about the agricultural business. In result I was named the winner of the debate. 

I can truly say that I was beyond honoured. It was a great experience to win and moreover it gave me great insights in this industry. I could really see possibilities for Imagineers in this sector.

The report on the event can be found at (in Dutch): http://www.schuttelaar.nl/maatschappelijk_cafe/2011/boer_in_debat

 

Open up

Isn’t livestock production a subject we all would like to avoid? It is an awful idea that for our daily portion of meat, thousands animals live in big mass stables with no more than 1m2 of their own and where these dear animals after their poor lives are killed brutally… Is this idea correct though? 

The farmers in the audience were complaining about the negative image of the animal well being. This made me believe that the true story about livestock is more positive. Therefore the current situation should be told by the farmer instead of imagined by the consumer! By being transparent as a farmer/producer, I believe that a livestock producer can create great value in this industry. 

Can you imagine that you would exactly know where your chicken wing came from?

One could say that the consumer does not want to know the real story behind their foods. Well I think they do. This knowledge will create awareness and moreover, the authentic relationship between the farmer and the consumer could be restored and dialogue will be created. Only fifty years ago we all knew what we ate exactly and how those animals lived. Do you think any consumer would have bought a piece of meat of a farmer of which he knew he mistreated his livestock back then?

Where can this information be found? I imagine a meat concept in retail stores of which you would exactly know all the information about your piece of meat. How would things change if the consumer could inform online where the meat came from? Information such as the number of cows living at the farm, what they eat, how their homes look like and what kind of challenges the farmer deals with. The identity of the farmer gets a more relational feel as he tells his story about working with livestock. I believe that not one farmer becomes a farmer without love for his animals. This love should be shared and this could really give a new dimension in livestock production and consumption.

I think this is the future, open up your eyes and your doors livestock producers!  Transparency, appreciation and co-creation are the future. Think from your chances instead of the limitations.

The first in this series is alum Rob van Vlokhoven whose work with Schiphol in the Master in Imagineering 2009/2010 we has been previously profiled on our site. 

1. What should you consider before approaching an application company?

Before you are approaching an application company I think it is important to find your own way to explain what Imagineering is and how it can be translated to a company's business. So depending on the company you want to work with you might have a look at some concepts which express the power of imagineering and the way new thinking creates new opportunities. It is also very helpful to do some research on the kind of jobs you are interested in, this way you start to understand what companies are looking for and how you can help them with your creative imagination.

2. What do you consider to be a good way to approach an application company?

A good way to approach an application company is to use your network. So start talking about Imagineering as soon as possible and tell people that you are in fact looking for an organization, where you can implement your gained knowledge. Another 'must do' is start a blog and open a Twitter-account. With the blog you can design your platform of interest and you can work on your personal branding. The Twitter-account helps you to find inspiring people, articles and companies. A recent trend which organizations embrace is using Twitter to get in touch with people for new job-positions, hereby I have already seen quite some interesting internships… So don't miss out on that one!

3. How did you address the issue of money with your application company?

I think having an application company is very important to grow as an imagineer, because this is the best way to find out the differences between 'old' and 'new' thinking. This implies that you should be creative in the way you address the 'money'-talk and focus on the value it brings to both parties.

4. What did it mean to your education working with an application company?

For me working at Schiphol Group has been truly amazing. Obviously the airport has this amazing vibe, but moreover the people working there have inspired me in ways I cannot even describe. Therefore I strongly suggest to immediately start looking for a company to discover what Imagineering can do for you! 

The second in this series is current Master in Imagineering student Evelyn Grunau, who is working with the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Amsterdam Public Library) for her final dissertation. 

1. What should you consider before approaching an application company?

Have an idea about a possible project that fits to the company (so you have something to 'offer', in case they don't already have an idea about how to 'make use' of you). Also, be able to define what Imagineering is- in your own words (have a brief presentation ready for the first talk). Map out some industry areas/ branches you are personally interested in- that way you work somewhere/ for someone you enjoy working for: keeps you motivated! Be able to say why you chose them.

2. What do you consider to be a good way to approach an application company?

I wrote emails- I did individualize the text though for each organization. I also added links to the Imagineering Academy and gave some examples of what former students did for companies (what were the tasks and what the outcomes). I guess calling and asking for a few minutes of (someone's) time in order to explain what you are studying and how you can be useful to them. Always good to know someone that knows someone…otherwise do go on Twitter and follow them and…make them follow you (by posting interesting tweets, sending a direct message, mentioning them in a tweet…).

During the first talk my first question for them was why they had reacted to my email! That way I knew that the topic of 'co-creation' was the 'trigger' and it was a nice way to start a discussion and to find a topic for me- together.

3. What did it mean to your education working with an application company?

I knew that working for a public organization there would not be much money in there for me, but I must also say that I never expected to receive payment (from neither of the organizations I approached). I found an application company I am happy and also proud of working for and with- plus after a while I do receive (a little) money and other benefits now. 

If you are dependant on your company to pay the tuition fees (or part of it), introduce yourself as a professional from the start: you are a future Imagineer and they can benefit from you! Be confident about yourself, the things you know already and the things you will learn in the course of the next months.

Also maybe someone from the academy can come along to the first talk (or invite them to the Imagineering Academy to show them around and introduce them)- show that there are indeed professionals in the 'background'.

4. What did it mean to your education working with an application company? 

I had my company pretty early and when I was in class I could instantly take notes when something came up that I could connect to my company/ my topic. Very helpful to have a 'direction' to think in and to be able to make the link to the 'real' world. I also had the feeling that my company coach was very much interested in my studies from the very start and she also gained a lot from having meetings and discussions with me.

The first in this series is alum Marcel Broumels, whose work with Facilicom in the Master in Imagineering 2008/2009 we have previously profiled on our site. 

1. What should you consider before approaching an application company?

Make sure you pick a company that makes you feel excited when you think about working there, it is good to have some affiliation with the type of branche you'll be working in. Make sure you get a clear view on what Imagineering is about and what you should be able to deliver during the year you're studying at the Imagineering Academy. Decide for yourself what you think is best to talk about during your meeting with the company. Don't promise things that you are not sure of. 

2. What do you consider to be a good way to approach an application company?

Personal contact works best. Try to see if your friends/family have contacts at the firm you're interested in. If that doesn't work, you can always try to think of creative solutions to get people introduced to you as an individual and your interest in Imagineering. (Think of short movie clips, photo's or creative CV) It helps to be recognised as some companies receive a lot of requests during their busy schedules.

3. How did you address the issue of money with your application company?

I said it had to be an investment from both sides and I was aware that the company would get a lot of usefull information in return. I didn't mention it in detail during our first conversation, but adressed it after we found an interesting area to work on as my assignment.

4. What did it mean to your education working with an application company?

For me it was an amazing opportunity to get a look behind the scenes of a big organisation. It helped me to get a good view on how companies and its cultures work. Because you're in contact with all different layers of the organisation you see what people play what parts in the organisation and how everyone is striving for their one goal. I think it would have been a big loss for me if  I did not have the chance to apply my knowledge at my application company. It was great, both for my CV as well as my personal development!