UNH Today

Paul College’s strength in new product development and innovation made it an ideal place to hold the 2017 Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) UNH Innovation Doctoral Consortium July 19-21, according to Charlie Noble, Vice Chair of the PDMA and Professor at University of Tennessee.

Sixteen doctoral student fellows from across the U.S. and eight countries convened on campus for two days of mentoring and research development. The doctoral student fellows, all conducting dissertation research in innovation and new product development, were matched with faculty from thirteen universities—in addition to UNH faculty participants—who are leaders in their fields.

Mentors to the doctoral student fellows at the consortium were faculty fellows who are renowned scholars and editors of leading journals in innovation and new product development. In addition, executives from industry leader and innovator companies AstraZeneca, Itaconix, and Timberland, along with the former CTO of Liberty Mutual, served as managerial fellows, participating in panels and workshops.

The event was successful in bringing together these three groups to network, collaborate, exchange ideas and discuss their research in innovation and new product development. In addition to a traditional keynote and panel discussions, the consortium included special events to help the doctoral student fellows: “hot topics” research project workshops, opportunities to present their research in front of experts in the field, and a doctoral dissertation competition.

“We were excited to be able to host this consortium and help develop the new generation of product developers and innovators,” said Ludwig Bstieler, associate professor of marketing at Paul College, who co-chaired the consortium along with Thomas Gruen, chair of Paul College’s marketing department.

“It was a privilege to host this important meeting of current and emerging thought leaders in this field that is so critical to driving innovation in our global economy,” said Deborah Merrill-Sands, dean of Paul College.