When I took over as Conference Chair of the World Open Innovation Conference (WOIC) in 2021, I didn't fully anticipate what an incredible learning journey it would become. Almost five years later, as we prepare for WOIC 2025 in Bilbao, I find myself reflecting on what it truly means to orchestrate an ecosystem—and how leading this conference has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my academic career.
Picture: The ITEM team at WOIC 2024 in Berkeley
A Perfect Alignment: Returning to TU/e
Taking on the Conference Chair role coincided perfectly with my return to Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 2021. This timing allowed me to bring my colleagues from the Innovation, Technology Entrepreneurship and Marketing (ITEM) research group at the Department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences (IE&IS) into the WOIC community.
Like so many organizations in 2021, we faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic head-on. We made the difficult but necessary decision to move the entire conference online for 2021. While this wasn't the in-person gathering we had envisioned for my first year as Conference Chair, it taught us valuable lessons about digital engagement and accessibility that continue to inform how we design WOIC today.
In 2022, we were thrilled to return to Eindhoven for an in-person conference, with the support of conference center at the High Tech Campus. Hosting WOIC in Eindhoven for both years wasn't just about geography—it was about demonstrating how deeply embedded open innovation thinking is in our research and teaching at TU/e.
But WOIC has never been just about one institution. Our organizing team brings together people from multiple universities and companies, creating what I like to call "an open innovation experience in itself." This mix of academia and practice, of different institutions and perspectives, somehow provides a living example of the challenges—and yes, the pleasures!—of orchestrating an ecosystem. 😉
More Than a Conference: The WOIC Family
What tells me we've truly succeeded? It's when participants describe WOIC as a "family." That word—family—captures something essential. For me personally, this is the biggest sign of our success: we've built something that feels less like a conference and more like a community. People don't just come to present papers or hear talks; they come to reconnect with colleagues, to feel part of something larger, to belong.
Picture: The attendees of WOIC 2024 at the University of California, Berkeley
Learning from a Pioneer
I was fortunate to take over from Henry Chesbrough, the father of open innovation himself. Henry established something fundamental in the DNA of WOIC: the commitment to bridging theory and practice. This isn't just about having academic papers alongside practitioner sessions—it's about creating genuine dialogue between these worlds.
Of course, building this program has been a collaborative effort involving many talented people from Henry's Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at UC Berkeley and beyond. I learned enormously from Joel West, who was the Academic Program Chair when I first joined the WOIC team 10 years ago. Taking over from Joel, I had the opportunity to further develop and build the Academic Team before eventually stepping into the Conference Chair role. This progression allowed me to understand WOIC from the inside out and to appreciate the careful balance required to serve both academic and practitioner communities effectively.
Picture: Henry Chesbrough at the inaugural WOIC 2014 in Napa Valley
From the beginning, WOIC has featured not only academic paper presentations but also practitioner-oriented Challenge sessions. These sessions tackle real-world open innovation problems that companies face, bringing researchers and practitioners into the same room to explore solutions together.
Innovation in Conference Design: Best Practice Sessions
One innovation I'm particularly proud of introducing is the Best Practice sessions. These sessions have turned out to be an excellent vehicle for bringing a broader representation of practical open innovation examples into the conference. Rather than just discussing open innovation in the abstract, Best Practice sessions let companies and organizations share their actual experiences—successes and failures alike—in implementing open innovation.
The response has been tremendous. These sessions create space for stories that might not fit the traditional academic paper format but are invaluable for anyone trying to implement open innovation in practice. They've become one of the most attended and discussed parts of the conference.
Picture: WOIC 2023 in Bilbao, Spain
A Partnership That Makes It Work
At some point along this journey, I had the great fortune of teaming up with Marisol Menendez, a true open innovation enthusiast with deep practical experience. Marisol's background—including her work at BBVA bank and more recently with her own company, Bilakatu—brings exactly the kind of practitioner perspective that WOIC needs. Our partnership embodies what WOIC is all about: bringing together academic rigor and practical wisdom.
Working with Marisol has reminded me daily that the best conferences aren't run from ivory towers. They're co-created by people who understand both the theoretical foundations and the messy realities of implementation.
Building on Previous Experience
My experience as a Representative at Large at the TIM Division of the Academy of Management provided valuable preparation for this role. Working on a large-scale academic conference taught me about the infrastructure, community building, and attention to detail that conferences require. But WOIC is different—it's more intimate, more practice-oriented, and more focused on creating genuine cross-sector dialogue.
The Bigger Picture: 20+ Years of Open Innovation
As we approach WOIC 2025, we're thinking back of when Henry Chesbrough published his first book, "Open Innovation – The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology" more 20 years ago. With this year's theme being "Open Innovation in Times of Uncertainty," open innovation is more important than ever, and the WOIC gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on what we've learned.
Our aim in WOIC is to bring stakeholders together for joint value creation—one of the previous conference themes—which leads us to ask a fundamental question: Is it true that we innovate better if we do it together? After many years of watching startups, corporations, academics, and policy makers come together at WOIC, I can tell you the answer—but I invite you to join us in Bilbao to discover it for yourself.
What I've Learned
Leading WOIC has taught me that organizing a conference is itself an exercise in open innovation. You need:
- Diverse perspectives: Our mix of universities and companies on the organizing team brings cognitive diversity that makes us better at solving problems
- Shared purpose: Everyone involved cares deeply about advancing open innovation
- Flexibility: Each edition brings new challenges, from pandemic pivots to new formats
- Trust: You can't orchestrate an ecosystem by controlling everything—you have to trust your collaborators
Most importantly, I've learned that the magic happens in the spaces between—the coffee breaks, the informal conversations, the unexpected connections that emerge when you bring the right people together around a shared passion. I usually jokingly say that the coffee break is the first thing I put on the schedule, which actually is not a joke!
A Community Effort
None of this would have been possible without the incredible dedication of so many people. To everyone who has contributed to making WOIC a success over the years: thank you. To the entire organizing team—past and present—who have invested countless hours in program development, logistics, speaker coordination, and all the behind-the-scenes work that makes a conference run smoothly: your commitment has been extraordinary.
Picture: Coffee break during WOIC 2022 at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven
To our academic and practitioner presenters who share their insights, to our sponsors who believe in our mission, to our volunteers who help make each edition memorable, and to every participant who brings energy and curiosity to our discussions—you are the heart of WOIC. This truly is a community effort, and I'm grateful to be part of it.
Join Us
If you're passionate about open innovation—whether from an academic, practitioner, or policy perspective—I invite you to join our community. WOIC 2025 will be held November 5-6 in Bilbao, Spain, and we're returning to a city that welcomed us beautifully in 2023.
More than just a conference, WOIC is a community of people who believe that innovation happens best when we open our boundaries and work together. I hope to see you there.
Learn more about WOIC at worldopeninnovation.com
Marcel Bogers is a Full Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation at the Eindhoven University of Technology and a Research Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
He speaks, writes, and advises on how organizations can create and capture value through openness and collaboration.
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