I help individuals and teams to create real-world change through education, entrepreneurship and empathy.
If you want to get fancy about it, I would say that I work on Interdisciplinary Programs merging technology with Social, Business and Ecological impact.
In practical terms that means:
- I help teams design products and businesses that succeed based on deep understanding of people and systems
- I design courses and teach Human Centred Innovation, Design for Impact and Systemic Design at universities around Europe
- I coach and mentor founders, and scientists or engineers who want to become founders
- I advise early stage companies that I hope will make a difference
All my work is enabled through collaborations - with companies, non-profits, innovation centres, public & private investors and universities. Here are a few well-known ones:
- CERN (home of the Large Hadron Collider)
- ESADE, Istituto Europeo di Design, UPC
- EIT InnoEnergy, InnoHealth, Urban Mobility.
- Amazon, Google, LG, Samsung, ING, GSK, AbbVie, Sanoma, Microsoft, Disney, Paypal, Telefonica, Vodafone, The Economist, Visa , The World Bank.
- Seedcamp, Rockstart, TechCityUK, Startupbootcamp, Enterprise Ireland, S2Xpeed, XaRFA, UPC Empren.
I’ve been helping teams make a difference for nearly 20 years. I have worked in the web, telecoms, energy, pharma, deep-tech, healthcare, government, greentech and education sectors.
I’m a Visiting Lecturer in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Masters’ and MBA programs for ESADE, UPC, Ecole Polytechnique Paris, KTH Stockholm, Politecnico di Torino, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon.
My background is design and business, technology and science and house music. I’ve set up, grown (and occasionally bankrupted) tech startups, consulting firms, incubators, food businesses, events companies, festivals and illegal raves.
Along the way I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with amazing people and inspiring projects.
Robert Heinlein once said “Specialisation is for insects” and I agree. I’m a proud Generalist - A jack of all trades and master of quite a few.
So… if you’re passionate about what you’re working on and want to move things forward better and faster, we should definitely talk.
I’d love to hear all about it.
Work together?
To get in touch, use the Contact form or email me at ian@iancollingwood.com.
Full disclosure
This site is a permanent work-in-progress.
(Just like us all).