innovation

Knowledge

2022

We explain what innovation, creativity and its characteristics are in the technological, educational and business areas.

Innovation was recently accentuated thanks to science.

What is innovation?

To innovate is to be immersed in the new, in the novel, or in the avant-garde. In fact, the word innovation is etymologically composed of several Latin voices, the central ones being in, "Between" or "inside", and novus, "new".

The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines innovation as "action and effect of innovating" or, in the more specific field of Commerce, such as “creation or modification of a product and its introduction in a market ”. In addition to the commercial field, it is possible to find this term in contexts as varied as technological, business or educational.

Innovation is a constant in history human. From the earliest times, the human being He has tried to create new tools, acquire new knowledge or improve what he already has, applying his ingenuity and, of course, his most urgent needs.

This feature became even more accentuated in recent centuries, when the science and the human reason have given our species an immense ability to discover the deep workings of the universe and apply it to the resolution of our problems everyday.

We must not confuse innovation with research.

Characteristics of the innovation

Broadly speaking, innovation can be characterized as follows:

  • It always has to do with the discovery or invention of a new way of doing things, or a new way of understanding what already exists.
  • It can arise by chance or accidental (for example, the accidental discovery of penicillin) or it can be the consequence of a sustained and systematic effort, that is, of an investigation and developing (for example, atomic energy took decades of theoretical testing and experimentation).
  • It occurs in practically all areas of human endeavor.

It can be of two types, depending on its mode of emergence:

  • Closed innovation. When all the innovators belong to the same organization.
  • Open innovation. When the finding is the result of the synergy of the dispersed and independent efforts of many individuals belonging to different groups.

Technological innovation

Technological innovation accelerated from the second half of the 19th century.

Technological innovation is the invention or development of technologies innovative, which often translates into more sophisticated tools, previously impossible capabilities, and new knowledge. It is a concept of the contemporary approach to science and technique, fruit of the great scientific-technological revolution that occurred since the second half of the 19th century and which continues to accelerate its march until today.

Technology allows us to adapt the world to our needs, instead of adapting ourselves to the pre-existing world. It is an important consequence of our ability to reason.

In this sense, innovation is part of the logical process of scientific and technical advance, insofar as a new tool allows the obtaining of new knowledge that in turn allows the manufacture of new tools and so on. This circuit of feedback it is precisely the engine of innovation in the area.

Educational innovation

In the area of ​​the teaching and the learning, innovation is the introduction of new physical or conceptual tools, or new transformative practices, as part of the current educational process, in order to improve, update or enhance it.

This usually occurs in the hands of new paradigms cultural, scientific and / or technological, as a form of adaptation of the society to new trends, since in this way future generations will be able to count on an up-to-date educational process.

Educational innovation tends to take place in two different ways:

  • Through the renovation of existing elements as part of the school process (update),
  • Or also as a consequence of the resolution of the problems internal needs or the internal needs of the educational system itself.

Business Innovation

In the business world, "innovation" is the implementation of a new idea or concept in the productive process, thus creating a service or a product with added value that can be marketed within a market niche.

Put more easily, business innovation has to do with the ability to introduce new ideas and concepts to economic activity, creating new goods or services or solving existing problems in the productive circuit.

Innovation is a highly sought after and central element in the life of the Business, who compete with each other to achieve the greatest economic benefit. An innovative concept or innovative tool introduced into a business niche can completely transform it. For many organizations it can mean the difference between success and bankruptcy, depending on how well they adapt to change.

In the economic field, innovation can translate into:

  • New goods or new services that did not previously exist.
  • New tools that facilitate, lower the price or enhance an existing economic activity.
  • New economic niches or ways to anticipate niches to come, or even ways to transform an existing niche.

Creativity and innovation

Creativity and innovation are concepts that should not be confused. However, the difference between one and the other can be subtle, since they are closely related concepts.

In this regard, the words of the North American congressman William Coyne (1936-2013) are often cited: “Creativity is thinking of new and appropriate ideas, while innovation is the successful application of ideas within a organization. In other words, creativity is the concept and innovation is the process ”.

This means that creativity is the exercise of the very conception of a novel idea, in the abstract. On the other hand, innovation always implies a practical criterion, that is, thinking about the way in which these ideas would allow a problem to be solved. This is the difference between the two concepts.

!-- GDPR -->