MAIN - Master in Innovation Management

Why study Management of Innovation?

The Master in Innovation Management - MAIN is jointly organized by the University of Trento and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa. We have developed this two-year program in consultation with market leaders and future employers in research, industry and government.
This two-year degree is particularly designed for students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation and aiming at management careers in innovative organizations, both in the private sector and in government.
The Faculty are leading researchers in innovation, management and economics. Italy is one of the eight most industrialized countries in the world and  has one of the largest manufacturing sectors among the European countries  as well as a unique system of small and medium-sized enterprises which are leaders in world markets. 

Competition is today almost entirely on a global scale and innovation skills are the only real tool able to enhance the position of a firm or a collective organization. ICT applications together with market globalization have radically changed business models, organizations and the competitive environment. The dematerialization of products and resources ask for new approaches in strategies and management.
Creative destruction is becoming more and more frequent even in sectors which only a few years ago were considered dynamically and technologically stable. So without an attitude to change it is impossible to survive.

However, innovation is mainly a management problem rather than a technical one. The capacity to generate innovation is not per se sufficient to ensure market success. There are several famous examples of market leaders with strong scientific and technological grounding whose innovative products failed once they went under the scrutiny of consumers and markets or were pushed out by more effective competitors. Furthermore, innovation today - and in the future - is mainly an innovation in “service” and therefore requires an interdisciplinary approach which blends and integrates technology, management, computer science, economics, organizational behaviour, and leadership in order to transform a smart idea into a true market success.

So innovation without innovative management skills is of little use.
This two-year degree will teach you a method rather than simple recipes. The challenge is that of understanding technological and organizational innovations in their multidisciplinary aspects while keeping in mind that the final goal is to create more competitive firms and more efficient organizations.
We are sure that these two years in Trento and in Pisa will be among the most relevant and stimulating of your professional life.