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    • Position: Innovation1 Leader - Sustainability, Field: Horticulture, Organisation: ZESPRI International Limited.

    Alistair Mowat, Zespri kiwifruit
    Rights: The University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato

    Alistair Mowat

    Key skills for innovation

    Alistair thinks the following personal attributes are important for working in innovation:

    • Connecting disparate ideas.
    • Communication skills.
    • Interpersonal skills.
    Rights: © Copyright 2012. University of Waikato. All rights reserved.

    Meet an innovator: Alistair Mowat

    Alistair Mowat discusses the personal skills that he brings to his role and how these skills were fostered. He explains that different people approach problems in different ways, so a diverse range of skills can be important in innovation.

    Background knowledge and experience

    Innovative projects draw on a range of people with diverse knowledge and expertise2. Each person involved contributes a unique knowledge and skill set, which is determined by their particular educational background and the range of experiences they are involved in through their work as well as their life outside of work.

    It’s important to be able to communicate and relate to a range of people with different thinking styles to your own.

    The background knowledge and experience that have contributed to Alistair’s unique knowledge and skill set for his current role as Innovation Leader at ZESPRI include:

    • project management
    • working as a research scientist
    • working as a research and development manager.
    Rights: © Copyright. University of Waikato. All Rights Reserved.

    Encouraging innovation: Alistair Mowat

    Providing opportunities for students to work together on group projects can help them appreciate that different people bring different skills and approaches to solving a problem. Alistair Mowat discusses how these experiences can help students recognise and value their particular skills and those of others and better prepare them to contribute effectively in an innovative workplace.

    This article is based on information current in 2013.

    1. Innovation: The development of a new process or product that is then used by others.
    2. expertise: Having excellent knowledge or skills in a particular area.
    Published 20 May 2013 Referencing Hub articles
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        Innovation

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        2. The development of a new process or product that is then used by others.

        expertise

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        3. Having excellent knowledge or skills in a particular area.

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