ECI Roundtable
Erasmus Center for Innovation

In addition to the physical events that you may have read about in this event case, we organize a webinar for Erasmus Center for Innovation (ECI) twice a year. Innovation managers from large companies such as Google, Royal Cosun and Boskalis discuss the developments in their field of work during these webinars. The participants keep each other sharp and learn from each other in the plenary discussions. Each webinar features new inspiring speakers who share their experiences with the participants.

Fun fact: the webinars and physical events that we organize for ECI are exclusively for invited innovation managers. This allows us to keep the level high and to share obstacles in a safe (smaller) group.

We always have a program with (international) academic and corporate speakers. With the webinars we complement the physical events well. In this way, the webinars provide extra networking opportunities, without this being time-consuming for the innovation managers. The developments that are shared are also current because of the planning of the events spread throughout the year. For example, the physical events take place in April and October and the webinars in January and June.

The last webinar took place on the afternoon of Thursday, June 5, 2026. This time the topic was Centralize or Decentralize Innovation. With speakers: David Williams (Chief Innovation Officer - AkzoNobel) and John Eklund (Asst. Professor - University of Southern California).

We tailor each event, online or physical, to the goals and wishes of the client. The webinar is usually opened by Murat Tarakci, professor of Innovation Strategy at Rotterdam School of Management. He welcomes the participants, explains the topic and announces the speakers. 3 speakers then share their knowledge and experiences. Finally, there is room for an open discussion, where members can share their tips, obstacles and perspectives. This results in informative conversations, which create new insights.