The Strategic Innovation Accelerator and Summit series enables multi-disciplinary discussions between senior leaders on relevant topics of the year. Unlike conventional, discipline-specific conferences, where topical content is narrow and participants are generally from the same discipline, the Accelerators and Summits bring together people across many sectors. These include government, business, education, non-profit, and the arts and sciences. The goal is to create and stimulate conversation that would normally not take place elsewhere, between senior leaders on topics related to innovation and society.
The Accelerators and Summits provide three important benefits to participants:
- Education: As experts in their fields, participants learn from one another through interactive sessions, panels and dedicated talks. These aim to educate, raise important questions, and present the latest data on trends and the current state of the Accelerator/Summit topic.
- Multi-Disciplinary Engagement: The Accelerators and Summits are sized so that even during the main session, a conversation can occur amongst all participants. Questions and answers are not only between the speakers but also the participants. Facilitators and moderators from HBS, TECH, and other centers are brought in to ensure engagement and to be a catalyst for the conversation
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Action: The ultimate goal of the Accelerators and Summits is impact. For this to happen, action is a critical component.
Programs in the Accelerator and Summits series include:
Accelerators – action-oriented, peer-to-peer, hands-on working sessions that have tangible takeaways. Typically two day events.
Summits – academic-style events where the aim is to educate and inform in a symposium setting. Typically 1.5 day events.
Deep-Dives – similar to Accelerators, with a more focused, single-large-topic subject area. Typically one day events.
Custom Events – these can be tailored to the style, subject matter and length of the organization’s needs.
For more information about the Strategic Innovation Accelerator and Summit series, please contact the Program Chair, Dr. David S. Ricketts (ricketts@seas.harvard.edu).