Teaching

This doctoral seminar examines the major streams of management research in technology and innovation strategy, with an emphasis on how contemporary shifts in platforms, ecosystems, and artificial intelligence are reshaping firms, industries, and the nature of value creation. We will build from foundational theories of technological change, industry evolution, and innovation strategy, while extending them to analyze emerging phenomena such as multisided platforms, innovation ecosystems, and AI-enabled technological change.

Throughout the seminar, we will explore how new technologies and organizational forms both challenge and enrich established theoretical frameworks. Particular attention will be given to the strategic choices firms make as technologies evolve; the coordination, governance, and value-creation dynamics within ecosystems; and the performance implications of platform competition and AI adoption. We will also consider how these forces influence entrepreneurial entry, scaling, and industry transformation.

The goal of the course is to equip doctoral students with a deep understanding of the interplay between technologies, organizations, and markets, and to identify high-potential opportunities for scholarly contribution. By engaging classic and contemporary research—including frontier work on platforms, ecosystems, and AI—students will develop the analytical tools, theoretical grounding, and research sensibilities necessary to advance academic discourse on technology strategy and innovation in today’s rapidly changing environment.

The syllabus for this course will be available here soon. 
View the course in the course catalogue: here

MO0221 im FS26 MO0221 Strategic Management of Innovation

Participant confirmations will be sent out within one week after that deadline. Reading material and all documents to this seminar will be shared via email.

Kick-off session (19.02.2026,  9:15 – 11:00):
This session will provide an overview of the seminar's content, details on organization and grading, and guidelines on how to prepare summaries and presentations.

Topic Presentations:
Topics will be assigned to student teams of two. The teams will summarize reading material which they receive at the beginning of the seminar. They will explore and select research publications and current examples that are relevant to their topic.

Each student team will deliver two 4-5 page papers that summarize the respective research papers and examples and that tie those to their topic.

Each student team will deliver two presentations introducing to the class their topic summary, the summary of the research publications, and of the examples they selected. Beyond presenting, teams will actively engage their classmates by leading an interactive discussion. The whole class will meet 9:15-11:00 for these presentations and discussions on the following days: 12.3., 19.3., 26.3., 23.4., 30.4., and 7.5.

Students will actively participate in class by engaging in the discussion of their own and of other student teams' topics.

MO0187 im FS26 MO0187 Managing Digital Innovation (S)

Participant confirmations will be sent out within one week after that deadline. Reading material and all documents to this seminar will be shared via email.

Introductory session: (19.02.2026 14:00 – 15:45):
This session will provide an overview of its content, details on organization and grading, and guidelines on how to prepare the term papers and presentations. Term paper topics will be assigned to student teams of two based on their preferences.

Paper development:
Student teams of two write a term paper.

Consultation for paper development: 
Individual appointment per team by arrangement (week of 02.03. – 06.03.2026)

Midterm presentation: 19.03.2026, 14:00 – 15:45

Presentation sessions: 08.05.2026, 9:15 – 15:45

Each group presents its term paper. In addition, each student will serve as a discussant to a peer group's paper. Beyond, active participation in the discussion by all participating students is required.
The seminar takes place on site. Attendance is compulsory.
 

Dates & Speakers:

• 9 October, 2025
  Maarten Cerpentier (ETH Zürich)— hosted by Anja Schulze
  Country Intellectual Property Protection, Firm Size, and New-to-the-World Innovations

• 23 October, 2025
  Tim Meyer (Universität St. Gallen) — hosted by Raphael Flepp
  The Effect of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Innovation: Evidence from Software Products

• 6 November, 2025
  Murat Tarakci (IMD) — hosted by Johannes Luger
  Title: tbd

• 20 November, 2025
  tbd

• 4 December, 2025
  Ryan Miller (UZH) — hosted by Jochen Menges
  Communion then Agency: Women’s Ascension to the Hospital CEO Role

Guest speaker: Luca Gambini, Senior Director of Sunrise

In the seminar, we are excited to host Luca Gambini, who is very experienced in the telecommunications and high-tech sectors. As the Senior Director at Sunrise, Switzerland's largest private telecommunications operator, Luch will enrich our seminar with his comprehensive real-world experience. Luca's presentation aims to link theoretical concepts with practical insights. Drawing from his 20 years of professional journey, which spans major IT and digital programs in Europe and the Middle East, he will share his perspectives on innovatively managing business challenges. His role at Sunrise, where he spearheads IT demand and delivery, digital transformations, and innovation strategies, offers a rich context for understanding the practical applications of strategic management principles in the dynamic field of telecommunications.

Further, Luca's expertise is not limited to the corporate sphere. He is a respected academic collaborator and guest lecturer, contributing to top-ranked universities like HEC Paris, University of St. Gallen, and EPFL Lausanne. Recently, he was recognized with the “Business Sponsor Award” from the London School of Economics, for his contributions to the Open Innovation master class.

In his presentation, Luca will focus on the integration of business and technology, demonstrating how an organization’s strategic activities can drive innovation.

UZH Innovathon 2025: The Digitalization of Mobility

UZH Innovathon 2024: The Digitalization of Mobility

Guest speaker: Luca Gambini, Senior Director of Sunrise

In the seminar, we are excited to host Luca Gambini, who is very experienced in the telecommunications and high-tech sectors. As the Senior Director at Sunrise, Switzerland's largest private telecommunications operator, Luch will enrich our seminar with his comprehensive real-world experience. Luca's presentation aims to link theoretical concepts with practical insights. Drawing from his 20 years of professional journey, which spans major IT and digital programs in Europe and the Middle East, he will share his perspectives on innovatively managing business challenges. His role at Sunrise, where he spearheads IT demand and delivery, digital transformations, and innovation strategies, offers a rich context for understanding the practical applications of strategic management principles in the dynamic field of telecommunications.

Further, Luca's expertise is not limited to the corporate sphere. He is a respected academic collaborator and guest lecturer, contributing to top-ranked universities like HEC Paris, University of St. Gallen, and EPFL Lausanne. Recently, he was recognized with the “Business Sponsor Award” from the London School of Economics, for his contributions to the Open Innovation master class.

In his presentation, Luca will focus on the integration of business and technology, demonstrating how an organization’s strategic activities can drive innovation.

• Seminar for Master students: Managing Digital Innovation

This seminar provides an overview of how businesses deal with and address the opportunities, alterations, and difficulties presented by digital technologies in their innovation endeavors.

Instructor: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze

Dates: 

September 22, 2023, 10:15 - 12:00, KOL-F-103: Kick-off meeting
November 23, 2023, 10:15 - 17:00, KOL-G-222: Paper presentations
November 24, 2023, 10:15 - 17:00, KOL-F-103: Paper presentations

Please check the course catalogue for the details!

• Innovathon Fall ’23: The Digitalization of Mobility

Make your ideas count by joining the UZH Innovathon. An interdisciplinary course for Master and Doctoral students based on challenges from industry partners.

Instructors: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze, Dr. Tumasch Reichenbacher, Dr. Claudia Röösli, Dr. Eryk Jerzy Schiller, Dr. Ning Wang, Dr. Nadine Zurkinden

Dates: 

September 14 – September 15, 2023: Teaching sessions
September 21 – September 23, 2023: Innovathon weekend
October 3, 2023: Final presentations

Please find more information here 

• Seminar for Master students: Managing Digital Innovation

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze

Dates: 

February 24, 2023, 10:15 – 12:00: Kick-off meeting
May 4, 2023 – May 5, 2023, 10:15 – 17:00: Paper presentations

Please check the course catalogue for the details!

• Seminar for PhD and Master students: Business Economics Research

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Ursula Backes-Gellner, Prof. Dr. Helmut Max Dietl, Prof. Dr. Egon-Peter Franck, Prof. Dr. Martin Natter, Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze, Prof. Dr. Carmit Segal, Prof. Dr. Luis Aguiar, Prof. Dr. Patrick Lehnert, Prof. Dr. Katarina Zigova

Dates: Tuesday 12:00 - 13:00, February 21, 2023 - May 30, 2023

Please check the course catalogue for the details!

• Innovathon Fall 22′: The Digitalization of Mobility

The DSI Mobility Community and the Innovation Hub, Cluster for Digital Innovation organized the Innovathon 2022. Here, Master and PhD students from all disciplines worked on real digital mobility solutions together with challenge partners from the industry. 

Dates:

September 14 – 15, 2022: Input Sessions
September 29 – October 1, 2022: Innovathon
October 7, 2022: Final pitch event

Highlights:

Winning proposal 
Event video

Please find more information here

• Innovathon Fall 21': Digitalization of mobility

The Innovathon 2021: The Digitalization of Mobility was offered as a course at UZH in fall 2021 by Digital Society Initiative and UZH Innovation Hub. The Innovathon brings innovators among students, researchers and industry to work on digitalization challenges. 

Dates: 

September 14 – 15, 2021: Lecture block
September 30 – October 2, 2021: Innovathon

Please check the Event Video and find more information here

• ​​​​​​PhD-Seminar in Fall 2019: "Theoretical Foundations of Innovation Management"

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze and Prof. Dr. Janell Townsend

Dates:

November 27, 2019, 10:00 – 17:00
November 28, 2019, 10:00 – 17:00
November 29, 2019, 10:00 – 12:30

Please see syllabus (PDF, 141 KB) for more details!

• PhD-Seminar in Fall 2018: "Theoretical Foundations of Innovation Management"

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze and Prof. Dr. Janell Townsend

Dates:

September 24, 2018, 10:00 – 17:00
September 25, 2018, 10:00 – 17:00
December 11, 2018, 10:00 – 16:00

Please see syllabus (PDF, 224 KB) for more details!

• PhD-Seminar in Fall 2017: "Theoretical Foundations of Innovation Management"

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze and Prof. Dr. Janell Townsend

Dates:

October 17- 19, 2017, 10:00 - 16:30
December 11 - 12, 2017 10:00 - 16:30

Please see syllabus (PDF, 221 KB) for more details!

• PhD-Seminar in Fall 2016: "Theoretical Foundations of Innovation Management"

Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Anja Schulze and Prof. Dr. Janell Townsend

Dates:

October 10 - 13 (Mo – Wed), 2016 (all day)
December 12 - 13 (Mo – Tue) 2016 (all day)
December 14 (Wed) 2016 (morning)

Please see syllabus (PDF, 171 KB) for more details!