CBI offers companies an opportunity to create new businesses based on their inherent core competences. The concept is labeled Business Innovation Project (BIP) and is a novel way of uniting advanced university research, a creative working environment and an extended Master’s Thesis supervised by experienced tutors and senior professors. The project is run in close collaboration with the participating companies.

The overall aim of the BIP is to identify new opportunities, design a business concept and develop a plan for how the company can realize the implementation. At the onset of the project, the company and the industry is analyzed in order to identify potential areas of innovation that are intrinsically connected to the company’s current business. The deliverables from BIP Phase 1 include agreement upon the scope and delimitations. Furthermore, the actual form of the project is constituted and the end goal is set. In BIP Phase 2, the deliverables from Phase 1 form the foundation for the creative task of coming up with ideas for new businesses or ways to expand the current business. Depending on the core competencies of the company, these may involve novel applications of existing technology in order to serve new customer segments. Alternatively, opportunities can be found in the development of new products to better serve the demands of current customers. This phase produces an array of business opportunities, which are then subject to a screening process to identify the best one to pursue. The preferred business opportunity may involve a number of activities, products or services and consequently, the screening process is carried out in close collaboration with the company to make sure that the suggested activities fit the company strategy. The focal deliverable from Phase 2 is the business proposal which contains a thorough analysis of the new business opportunity. Designing the implementation road map is a fundamental part of the project. It is also what primarily distinguishes the project from a traditional Master’s Thesis. During this phase, a strategy for executing the new business opportunity is formed and a mutually agreed business plan is created. Often the Master’s Thesis students are also involved in some parts of the actual implementation of the new business. Among the deliverables from Phase 3 are a complete business plan and a strategy for implementation, together with a presentation of the entire project.

The project leader is always an experienced researcher from CBI. The project members are Master’s Thesis students from Chalmers University of Technology, selected by the department through a rigorous process based on superior academic qualifications as well as interviews and workshops. A lot of effort is put into identifying students with an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. Typically, the students have an educational background in both technology and business, together with a track-record of entrepreneurial activities. The senior professor at the department also reviews the project and performs quality assurance.

So far, the concept of BIP has been able to make a positive contribution to several companies striving for growth and expansion of their businesses.

A word from a previous customer