We are missing huge opportunities here. Instead of remaining inside the ivory tower, universities are supposed to be an important part of urban development and social change. The tools are all out there, and this is the very moment digital can become a new infrastructure: an operating system for academic citizenship.

(Btw: The „Drittmittelförderung“ (third party funding at universities) has had an enormous impact on what universities were acting upon – not at all in a good way.)

Based on my own observations, I have a thesis that you may want to examine during your travels: Innovation does not emerge from “Think Tanks”.

Many corporates — Deutsche Bank, for example — take pride in relatively thorough “innovation management” — experiments with Design Thinking, Prototyping, crowdsourcing, startup relations; smart people, no doubt, doing smart things. Across the hallway, however, in the lines of business, the experience is more like what you’d expect: cost containment, a calculus based on hierarchy and status, silo egoisms, councils delegating responsibility backwards, risk aversion. Often heard: “A good idea, yes, but…”. Over time, the trench grows deeper, innovators are branded as theorists, and in practice, nothing much changes. It’s my belief that labs and “think tanks” produce, at best, ideas; true innovation, however, can only be found where the day-to-day decisions are made, where product ownership is, where daily operations are run.

The question, of course, remains: How do we inject the spirit of innovation where it really matters? Is it only about the character and charisma of the individual, or what can be done systemically? I’ll keep spinning these questions and I’m looking forward to your take on any answers.

Good luck!

I am really looking forward to reading about your insights, stories and findings. Have a safe trip!

In 2005, I came to the same conclusion as you, and abandoned seeking answers within media. Instead, I started spending time with startup founders, designers, developers, business professionals, artists, and anyone else who would have a conversation with me. I learned a lot. I did this all with the goal of bringing what I had learned back to journalism.

I also learned that most news organizations were unwilling to take even small risks to try new things, even when they know they need to change. When I said we need to do things differently, try new approaches, and experiment, people literally laughed at, dismissed or ignored me.

Now, many of the things I advocated or proposed are starting to happen. But resistance remains.

It took over 25 years for what we now call “data journalism” to become a mainstream practice. I hope that our urgent need to change journalism is a challenge we meet much faster, and that what you discover on your trips is given due attention and adoption.

Safe, productive travels — I’m looking forward to following along!