Marcel Bogers

Catalyzing Regional Innovation Ecosystems to Address Global Challenges: Toward the Fourth-Generation University? OVERVIEW: The fourth-generation university (4GU) represents a fundamental shift in how universities engage with innovation ecosystems. While entrepreneurial universities emphasize commercialization...

🔗 Link to article: doi.org/10.1080/0895... #OpenAccess @mtnorn.bsky.social

#4GU #InnovationEcosystems #GrandChallenges

The fourth-generation university (4GU) represents a fundamental shift in how universities engage with innovation ecosystems. While entrepreneurial universities emphasize commercialization and direct economic engagement, 4GUs explicitly organize their teaching, research, and valorization activities around societal transformation missions while orchestrating regional innovation ecosystems. For R&D managers, this transition creates new strategic opportunities: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain access to research infrastructure and collaborative networks otherwise beyond their reach, while large corporations can externalize exploratory research and participate in system-level solutions to grand challenges. We develop a working definition of the 4GU and demonstrate its practical implications through Eindhoven University of Technology’s evolution within the Brainport ecosystem, showing how this model creates value for R&D managers through ecosystem participation rather than bilateral knowledge transfer. We provide a staged implementation framework that guides firms from ecosystem assessment to co-orchestration, supported by multitier performance metrics that balance traditional innovation outputs with ecosystem development indicators. This article contributes to innovation management practice by reframing university–industry collaboration as ecosystem development—essential for addressing the complex, interdependent challenges that define contemporary innovation.

What if universities help address global challenges through ecosystem orchestration?

Our new invited article in Research-Technology Management explores the idea of the Fourth Generation University, which is part of our broader research agenda and aligned with the new institutional plan at @tue.nl.

Did you manage to get hold of a copy?

Official launch of #SocialMediaforResearchImpact with @bogers.bsky.social yesterday! Thanks to everyone who showed up and made this a special day for us, including @courtneyherms.bsky.social , Malene David Juul Jensen and Raluca Stana. @routledgebooks.bsky.social

Social Media for Research Impact: A Guide for Scholars A new guide helping researchers worldwide navigate social media effectively. Features the Researcher's Social Media Compass and voices from every continent.

Here is my own reflection in relation to the official publication: www.marcelbogers.com/blog/2741108...

Social Media for Research Impact: A Guide for Scholars A new guide helping researchers worldwide navigate social media effectively. Features the Researcher's Social Media Compass and voices from every continent.

It's the book I wish I'd had when I started. Not about going viral, but about finding your authentic voice and building real connections.

Full story on my blog: www.marcelbogers.com/blog/2741108...
Book: www.routledge.com/Social-Media...

A hobby that spiraled into something bigger. 📖✨
(3/3)

Social Media for Research Impact: A Guide for Scholars A new guide helping researchers worldwide navigate social media effectively. Features the Researcher's Social Media Compass and voices from every continent.

The central question we tackle: How do you combine fast-paced platforms with slow-burning research impact? Turns out, you don't have to choose.

We built the Researcher's Social Media Compass (Purpose→Presence→Platform→Personality→Practice) and included voices from scholars on every continent.
(2/3)

Social Media for Research Impact: A Guide for Scholars A new guide helping researchers worldwide navigate social media effectively. Features the Researcher's Social Media Compass and voices from every continent.

🎉 Launch day! Our book #SocialMediaForResearchImpact is officially out.

Back in the early 2010s, I started sharing research on Twitter. That simple practice made me a "hub" in my network—and led to meeting my co-author Mike Young @mkeyoung.bsky.social through social media itself.

(1/3)

Social Media for Research Impact front cover

📕NEW BOOK📕

Social Media for Research Impact, by @bogers.bsky.social & @mkeyoung.bsky.social

“An extremely helpful guide for academics who wants to enhance the impact of their work. I wish I'd read this ten years ago!” Henry Chesbrough

www.routledge.com/Social-Media...

Thanks for sharing!

I believe you can request that through the publisher's website.

And as a bonus, here is an AI-generated 'Supervisor’s Checklist for Collaborative Doctoral Projects' 😊
(5/4)

We hope that these findings will help both PhD students and their supervisors — and anyone working in collaborative research for that matter — to better navigate uncertainty in collaborative research projects!
@tue.nl @ucph.bsky.social
(4/4)

dynamic and frequent engagement with industry partners, negotiating boundaries early and explicitly, on-site industry visits to build trust and understanding, and accepting uncertainty as part of the doctoral (and scientific) process.
(3/4)

... research freedom, shifting industry priorities, and access/confidentiality boundaries. Importantly, we also show how they develop smart self‑management strategies to navigate them:
(2/4)

New publication!
“Halfway in, halfway out: Navigating uncertainty in collaborative doctoral training” is now out 🎉
doi.org/10.1177/0950...
We show how PhD candidates in industry–university projects face three types of uncertainty: ...
(1/4)

I’ve been circling around this box from @routledgebooks.bsky.social for days. I was nervous about opening it. It was, after all, the end result of a full year of thinking, writing, and rethinking. It is a book about using social media slowly. So I approached it … slowly 🙂

This post was written with the Researcher’s Social Media Compass from the book in mind: purpose first, then presence and platform, with a personal tone, following consistent practice.

Research impact starts with how, and why, we communicate. 🚀

Handing over the first copy of Social Media for Research Impact to the Rector of Eindhoven University of Technology.

Handing over the first copy of Social Media for Research Impact to the Rector of Eindhoven University of Technology.

A small symbolic step — not about one university, but about opening up research so ideas can travel, connect, and matter.

#SocialMediaForResearchImpact
@tue.nl @mkeyoung.bsky.social

Quantifying Firms' Innovation Ecosystem Orientation: Assessing the Impact on Innovation Performance and Triple Bottom Line Collective Benefits Innovation ecosystems (IE) have gained prominence as drivers of business and sustainable development. Given their importance for social and economic development, they help address the increasing compe...

New publication in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management: firms’ innovation ecosystem orientation is not only linked to innovation performance, but also to economic, social, and environmental Triple Bottom Line collective benefits. 🌍
doi.org/10.1109/TEM....
@ieeexplore.bsky.social

The First Copies Arrived: Social Media for Research Impact YouTube video by Professor Marcel Bogers

Today, the first physical copies of Social Media for Research Impact arrived!

A short unboxing and reflection here: youtu.be/R1RK8EMEUYY

More stories and insights from the book will follow.

#SocialMediaForResearchImpact
@mkeyoung.bsky.social
@tue.nl

BOOK: Social media for research impact How scholars can share ideas, build networks, and make a difference

6/ He is one of the cases in the book Social Media for Research Impact which I have written with
@bogers.bsky.social and which is coming out in January:
mikeyoungacademy.dk/book-social-...

The End of a 400-Year Business Model: Lessons from Denmark Denmark's 400-year postal service ends, marking the demise of one of the world's oldest business models. Research reveals critical lessons for managing innovation.

Denmark's postal service delivered its last letter yesterday, ending 400 years of operation. One of the world's oldest business models is now history.
What can we learn from this transformation? I explore the lessons in my latest post: www.marcelbogers.com/blog/2908161...
#BusinessModel #Innovation

Tackling Societal Challenges Through Open and Collaborative Innovation / Blog | Marcel Bogers From the same room where I graduated to becoming a professor—my journey in open innovation research and why collaboration is essential for tackling climate change, pandemics, and societal challenges.

I’ve published a new blog post that reconnects with themes from my inaugural lecture in 2022 and explores how my work on open and collaborative innovation has evolved over time. It offers background, framing, and what readers can expect from the broader project.
www.marcelbogers.com/blog/2739869...

I’m grateful to be included in the 2025 #HighlyCitedResearchers list by @clarivate.com.

Research is never a solo act — it’s the result of shared ideas, curiosity, and collaboration. 🚀

Not “humbled,” just thankful to the many people who made this possible. 🙏

@tue.nl
#HighlyCited2025

It's a wrap! We concluded our World Open Innovation Conference #WOIC2025 and are already getting ready for #WOIC2026: November 4-6, 2026, in Kaunas, Lithuania. 🚀

After a great morning run, we are ready for another day of bridging theory and practice in #OpenInnovation during our World Open Innovation Conference, starting with an excellent keynote by Vinit Parida on 'Digitally-Enabled Business Model Innovation in Industrial Ecosystems'! 🚀

#WOIC2025 🌍

I'm very proud and excited to kick off the 12th World Open Innovation Conference, together with my partner-in-crime Marisol Menendez. 🚀

Starting with Ann-Kristin Zobel's keynote on 'How Open Innovation Helps Address Wicked Problems! 🤩

Looking forward to a great #WOIC2025 here in Bilbao! 🌍

Running reminds me that sustainable progress isn’t about speed but about finding a rhythm you can keep — in work and in life.
New blog: www.marcelbogers.com/blog/2742012...

Fourth Generation University: From Closed Knowledge House to Open Innovation Hub Discover how universities are transforming into Fourth Generation Universities (4GU) - open innovation hubs that co-create value with society. Learn about TU/e's journey, international recognition in ...

From closed knowledge houses to open innovation hubs: universities are evolving into connectors and co-creators.
New blog post inspired by this week’s talk with
Maarten Steinbuch at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
🔗 marcelbogers.com/blog/2741109...
#OpenInnovation #HigherEd @tue.nl