XYZ: What do these three letters put together mean?
Three Letters, Three Generations: Collaborating for a Sustainable Future
Generation X (1965-1980), Generation Y (1981-1995/96), and Generation Z (1995/96-2010) are coming together to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by the ecological and digital transitions. Their collaboration is key to driving the transformation towards sustainable development for future generations.
Learn from the wisdom and experience of Generation X, act with the dynamism and adaptability of Generation Y, and think with the innovative and forward-looking mindset of Generation Z!
It is the tentative of integration and implementation of the Pre-incubation process students participate to, represents the training and the activities that they engage in to develop capabilities for technology transfer for a university of social sciences. In this way, the preincubation process can be expanded in the Figure below, thus considering Tech Transfer as the result of the process itself and commencing the “incubation process” of the solutions developed during the two-year program.
At the end of the first academic year, students finalize the X-labs challenge- as the middle step of the so-called Pre-Incubation process. The steps of this Pre-Incubation process are supposed to contribute to your polyhedric training by enriching your knowledge path with applied skills and the “job on the training” approach.
Therefore, at the end of the 2nd academic year, three winning X-Labs take the part as the logbook of ZLabs – final step of Pre-Incubation Process of the enquiry-based educational path through which students supported by ad hoc experts can acquire or further develop frontier research capabilities, research and innovation methodologies, practices, and tools linked to each of the transversal themes (climate- just and tech transfer, scenario analysis and governance).
The Strategic Management, Innovation, and Sustainability programme equips graduates to work in multinational corporations, consulting firms, startups, and non-profit organizations. Upon graduation, students will be fully prepared to apply for the following job positions:
Strategic Management roles, focusing on shaping and implementing strategic initiatives in various industries.
Innovation Management roles within corporations or consultancies, driving change and promoting sustainable and innovative practices.
Sustainability Officer roles, ensuring that companies meet environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) standards.
Entrepreneurial roles in start-ups or innovation-focused entities, leveraging strategic and sustainable innovation knowledge.
Policy Analyst or Consultant roles in government organizations or NGOs, shaping and influencing sustainability policies.
Progress to higher academic qualifications (PhD or postgraduate diploma in Strategic Management, Corporate Sustainability, Innovation Management).
The Strategic Management, Innovation, and Sustainability programme prepares you to be a leader in today's complex business environment, fostering strategic, innovative, and sustainable business practices.
Enquiry-Based and Inno-Preneurial Approach
In the two years of the program, students who wish to become managers of innovation and sustainability are engaged in enquiry-based and inno-preneurial activities. They will put their acquired knowledge into practice by experimenting with concrete applications in different laboratories aimed at creating:
fundraising proposals,
EU projects,
start-ups,
sustainable business models and technology transfer processes,
fintech and green/sustainable finance mechanisms,
innovative governance and policy solutions:
R&I Lab
The course will provide the students with practical skills on how to prepare a Research and Innovation proposal, eligible for funding under the Horizon Europe financing framework. In the laboratory, the students will learn how to describe the excellence, impact and implementation for their ideas, they will learn to test their hypothesis, and they will apply the knowledge gathered in the other courses of the LDIS curriculum.
X-Labs
The X-Labs were tested for the first time in 2021, in 2022, and again in 2023 and 2024, including students and professors from Luiss and MSc programme in Law, digital Innovation and Sustainability, and the Engage.eu partnership, as well as representatives of national and international bodies. The cycles used to be scheduled from February to the last week of April, and in a final pitching session (Common Home Event), in the presence of partners, institutions and stakeholders. X-Labs offer students a transformative platform, enabling them to develop proof of concepts in collaboration with industry partners. This innovative program reverses the traditional "training on the job" model to a "job on the training" approach, immersing students directly in real-world work environments and the dynamics of professional settings. Students collaborate in teams under the guidance of professional mentors, focusing on creating targeted, mission-oriented innovations. This hands-on experience equips them with practical skills and an understanding of workplace norms and social dynamics, effectively bridging the gap between academic learning and professional application.
Example: 2024 X- Labs experience
The challenges of X-Labs were grouped into three labs and each of them was divided into two communicating and mutually inspiring sub-categories. The aim was to develop horizontal and systemic solutions based on a multi-actor approach and cross-sectoral innovation:
Future of Cities/Regions & Mobility/Transportation
Future of Energy, Telcos, Infrastructure & Industry/Manufacturing
Future of Earth & Wellbeing
The students were mentored, guided and collaborated with experts from diverse fields, such as Andrea Buonomini (Ratpdev Italia), Mauro Annunziato (former ENEA), Nicola Angelo Marotta (Technip), Enrico Foglia (BIP), Paola Mercogliano (CMCC Foundation) and Marijana Krstić (PM Labgov and CEO Startup Shades of Blue).
Each X-Lab had about 16 students divided into two sub-groups who developed a solution to one challenge each
The total working hours for the students is 30 (15 for each mentor, and facilitated by the Luiss team, composed of a tutor, the LDIS degree programme manager, research fellows and PhD students).
The X-Labs ended with the presentation of the 6 projects developed during the course by the students -participants. The most promising won three prizes offered by our partners and the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti (CTE) of Rome.
Negotiation Lab
Students analyze the origin of conflicts and understand how to manage them, developing their negotiation skills to "create value" (win-win negotiation). The negotiating lab is divided in two parts. First part of the session starts with teoretical framework of Science of Negotitation Science of Human Interaction, The second part is the elaboration of real life cases, on which students confront and practice negotitation principles and develop negotiation skills.
Z-labs
Z-Labs are capstone modules of the MSc Law, Digital Innovation and Sustainability and Strategic Management, Innovation and Sustainability enquiry-based educational path through which students supported by ad hoc experts can acquire or further develop frontier research capabilities, research and innovation methodologies, practices, and tools linked to particularly relevant cross-cutting competences and skills such as stakeholder engagement, technology transfer, quantitative analysis, and sustainable governance. They will be taught by a Luiss Research Fellow and one key-mentor for each of the transversal themes (tech transfer, quantitative analysis and governance).
Z-Labs are addressed to the second-year students, stimulating them to further develop key skills that they will apply towards empirical and experimental theses that they will have to submit for their master’s degree. The thesis, in fact, is a key learning component of the two-year MSc program. It is the final step of the Luiss enquiry-based learning model - Luiss Uniqueness - by exposing students to cross-disciplinary outputs following their 2-years preparation. Theses can enrich the synergies between academic research and education with professional expertise and challenge-based approach to formulate interdisciplinary solutions' proposals to real-life issues. The final thesis highlights students' ability to formulate critical thinking. By prioritizing this cross-disciplinary, and tailoring the output on individual skills, we ensure that our students are prepared for future professional success in the global economy and for lifelong intellectual and personal development.
Main Subjects & Deliverables
During the Z-labs, students will work in a team to develop one of three main projects which correspond to three labs. Each student will be assigned only to one lab:
Deliverable type 1: stakeholder map, project execution plan, governance
Deliverable type 2: Business Plan (including stakeholder map and governance model), Company Statutes
Z-Labs will be co-managed by faculty members, professional mentors and practitioners, students, and last 18 hours.
Luiss and Partners’ Inno-preneurship Spaces
Z-Labs initiative will be conducted primarily at the Luiss Loft as the Luiss Inno-preneurship Space, applying the Inno-preneurship Methodology developed within the H2020 ENGAGE.EU project and ENGAGE.EU alliance. Hence, the Inno-preneurship Spaces are defined as physical and digital layers which promote a collaborative and open processes facilitating the cooperation of a variety of stakeholders in developing innovative entrepreneurial ideas having a sustainable impact on society.
Z-Labs will inspire universities in the alliance to promote acceleration and dissemination of inno-preneurial activities by offering a network with other inno-preneurs, unlocking knowledge and expertise, disseminating good examples, and co-creating best practices.
Further support will be available outside from the university walls, thanks to “Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti” (CTE) in Stazione Tiburtina in Rome as incubator in the city environment, and Assoholding with their acceleration program for new companies.
GrInn Lab
GrInn Lab is a laboratory dedicated to innovation for sustainable development through experimentation at the urban, local and territorial levels, combining theoretical research, applied research, innovation (including social innovation) and technology transfer. Addressing the challenges that the ecological and technological transition is producing, the lab is based on an ecosystem approach to innovation in the dual sense of targeting the production of complex ecological, cultural, and social impacts and aiming to involve five main urban actors: public, private, social, educational-cultural-scientific, local communities and vulnerable urban inhabitants (in particular, the younger generation, the weaker social groups, etc.).
The workshop draws on the field experience of LabGov ETS, an NGO made up of Lab alumni and students, and LabGov.City, a scientific partnership between Luiss Guido Carli and Georgetown University committed to the development of studies, projects and policies for the co-management of urban spaces, infrastructure and resources essential to making cities more just, inclusive, sustainable, equitable and democratic.
The GrInn Lab, which will see the active participation of Lab alumni, Ph.D. students, researchers, managers, public administrators, and third-sector professionals, is structured around six basic pillars:
Climate and Technology Justice
Heritage and Business Communities
Common Goods
Solidarity, Collaboration, Civic Innovation
Circular and Energy Neighborhoods and Communities
Emerging technologies for sustainable development.
GrInn Lab is intended for Luiss students enrolled in the second year of the Bachelor's degree program of the Departments of Economics and Management, Political Science, and in the third year of the Single-Cycle Bachelor's degree program in Law. GrInn Lab is conducted in Italian.
Face the underlying challenges of digital and green transitions attending X-Labs
The X-Labs capstone modules engage students in groups of 5 to 10 to tackle real-world challenges. Today, public, private, and social organizations, as well as innovators, face escalating complexities, uncertainties, and insecurities, making digital and ecological transitions more challenging than ever.
The X-Labs immerse students in typical workplace dynamics and social norms by re-engineering the traditional "training on the job" model into a "job on the training" approach. This innovative framework includes:
An experimental, problem-based teaching methodology that encourages innovative thinking.
Active facilitation and mentorship provided by Luiss faculty members and professional mentors from partner organizations.
Opportunities for students to design and develop a proof of concept, which they then present to an X-Labs jury consisting of top executives from partnering organizations.
A professional work environment from day one, enabling students to develop and refine innovative solutions effectively.
This structured yet dynamic approach ensures that students not only learn theoretical knowledge but also apply their skills in practical, impactful ways.
The X-Labs 2024 solutions
The Future of Cities/Regions & Transportation/Mobility
Solution: TREC
Mentor: Mauro Annunziato ENEA
Solution: Ecolibris
Mentor: Andrea Buonomini - RATP DEV Italia
The Future of Earth & Wellbeing
Solution: Roam 'n' Roll
Mentor: Paola Mercogliano - CMCC Foundation
Solution: Green Club: Driving Change
Mentor: Enrico Foglia - Renerative Marketing Institute
The Future of Energy, Networks & Manufacturing
Solution: Waste2Energy Green Plant
Mentor: Nicola Angelo Marotta - Technip Energy Italy Solutions S.p.A
Solution: Hydrosoy
Mentor: Marijana Krstic - LabGov ETS
During this edition the involvement in the design of students and tutors from the Universities of Tilburg, Mannheim, Bergen, Sofia, Vienna and Toulouse, who participated in the experimentation conducted as part of the Engage University.Eu project, has continued to be implemented stimulating attention to European replicability and/or scalability in the design.
The X-Labs program contributes significantly and is oriented towards the realization of the objectives and activities of the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti in Rome (Rome Open Lab), of which Luiss is a main partner.
The X-Labs and the GrInn Lab 2024 have been part of the 360° Startup track in cooperation with the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti.
This path involved also students from High Schools and Technical High Schools (Istituti Tecnici Superiori) who had the opportunity to apply for GrInn Lab.
If you want to know more about the X-Labs click here.
If you want to know more about the GrInn Lab click here.
For information and support, please, write an email to this address: xlabs@luiss.it
The proposals emerging from the Spring 2024 X-Labs program received additional attention during the third edition of Common Home event, held on May 9th 2024 at Luiss Guido Carli University and organized by Assoholding, Regenerative Marketing Institute and LabGov ETS.
Further activities to develop the ideas, projects, and solutions elaborated by students within the Spring 2024 X-Labs program will take place during the Summer 2024.
FOUNDATIONAL THEORIES OF THE MSc in Strategic Management, Innovation & Sustainability
The enquiry-based models
Engagement
Students develop skills to design cutting-edge innovations, addressing real-world challenges with SMIS partners.
Mission-orientation
Indeed, core courses and labs challenge students in working groups to prototype disruptive solutions for the digital and ecological transition.
Job on the training
Students work as professionals in innovation units integrated with partners to develop solutions as part of their courses/labs evaluation, internships and final project.
Challenge-based learning
builds on problem-based learning models where students engage in self-directed work scenarios by giving them opportunity to focus on a significant challenge addressed to developing local solutions (Johnson, 2009)
Project-based learning
Project-based learning (PBL) will lead to wide variation in the quality of project design and classroom implementation challenging problems or questions with a sustained inquiry (Buck Institute for Education 2015) as "we learn from reflecting on experience” (Dewey, 1933)
Open Science and Citizen Science
Deepening the relationship between science and society and reinforcing public confidence in science, the EU has been favouring an informed engagement of citizens and civil society on research and innovation matters by promoting science education, by making scientific knowledge more accessible, by developing responsible research and innovation agendas that meet citizens' and civil society's concerns and expectations
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
create a research and innovation friendly and open environment to stimulate students to simultaneously and sustainably start to tackle low economic growth, limited job creation and global challenges such as health, well-being, security, food, natural resources, climate and energy (European Commission, 2018). Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a term used by the European Union's Framework Programmes to describe scientific research and technological development processes that take into account effects and potential impacts on the environment and society.
Mission-oriented innovation
knowledge engine of a missions-oriented public innovation unit that will change policies (Mazzucato, 2018) which has inspired a new approach to target social, economic and environmental issues.
Re-creating the innovation ecosystem
Building on the triple helix model of innovation, based on a relationship between university, industry, government and advanced the idea of a quintuple helix or pentahelix model of innovation for governance of the city as a commons (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000; Carayannis & Campbell, 2010; Barth, 2011; Iaione, 2016)
Ostrom and the science of sustainability
the design principles of governance of the commons enucleated by Nobel laureate in Economics Elinor Ostrom (1990): cooperation and communities are key elements for long-endurability
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Discover your future Job Opportunities.
Innovation or Sustainability Managers. Experts who work for large private, public, social organizations in the coordination of integrated business or administrative units who manage digital or ecological transition processes
with multidisciplinary abilities in system thinking, risk management and legal analysis.
Lawyers 4.0 (Legal Innovation Designers/Data Protection and Security Managers/Cyber Risk Managers/Risk Officers). Legal experts in the design and coding of new legal infrastructure in a phase of digital, technological, climatic and
social transition contributing to risk analysis, cyber risk management, data protection, privacy management and compliance in large private, public, social organizations by using legal design thinking and lateral thinking
Students Experience & Thoughts
I believe that the Law, digital innovation and sustainability master is a great chance to acquire a multidisciplinary background.
Indeed, digitalisation and sustainability are key to address the global challenges the world is facing.
- Sofia
The LDIS master is an effective chance to foster themes such as sustainability and digitalisation in the current evolving era.
This course literally puts the progress in your hands.
- Ilaria
One of the thing I appreciate the most of this master program is how it manages to create a stimulating environment preparing us to face the many challenges of our era.
The confrontation with students, professors and professionals comin g from different backgrounds helps us understanding many points of view on such delicate matters.
- Chiara
As my future profession I would like to do something that allows me to help people, what better occasion if not helping the planet people live in?!
This master course opens you the gate towards the future, a future that you have to create.
- Alessio
Being part of the LDIS family has been the most stimulating part of this course.
Getting in touch with international and italian students and some of the most important scholars of law, digitalisation and sustainability in the world expanded my horizon towards a new comprehension of the world we live in.
- Giannandrea
The themes of sustainability and digitalization have always been the focus of my interest and taking part in this master course has allowed me to get to the heart of the dynamics and central issues.
Dynamism and multidisciplinarity are certainly two key words to describe this course of studies that can allow you to concretely help the community and the planet.
- Josette
TheMScinLaw,InnovationandSustainability isatrueimmersionintherealworld, delves into and addresses our times’ challenges. It makes you “be” the change you want for our society.
Thanks to our working method I learned what "collaboration" and "cooperation" really mean and how important they are.
- Margherita P.
I was particularly impressed by the name of the course, why “law”? I then understood that we are brought to think and sustainability and digital innovation are good as such but unfortunately this is not true.
They can lead to job losses for example. Therefore we need to understand legal frameworks in order to create a truly inclusive and beneficial future for everyone.
