Innovation Ecosystems: A Three‑Part Learning Journey (MERIT)

Innovation Ecosystems is a three-part learning journey that introduces you to the structures, dynamics, and realities of innovation ecosystems. Designed for students who want to understand innovation beyond buzzwords, the module provides a clear and practical foundation grounded in both research and real-world experience.

Co-created with RTU senior innovation expert and PhD researcher Kristaps Banga, the course integrates the latest academic insights with hands‑on ecosystem practice. You will explore how organizations, institutions, and individuals interact to create value and what it takes to be an effective participant in these interconnected networks.

By the end of the journey, you will be able to speak the language of ecosystems and open innovation and think more strategically about your role in shaping them.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion, participants will be able to:

• Foundations of innovation ecosystems
  • Explain what innovation ecosystems are and why they matter in modern economies
  • Understand the core principles of open innovation and collaborative value creation
• Actors, roles and collaboration
  • Identify key ecosystem participants and describe how they interact, collaborate, and co‑create
  • Recognize the motivations, incentives, and barriers shaping ecosystem dynamics
• Organizational capabilities and readiness
  • Evaluate an organization’s innovation capabilities and maturity
  • Assess how maturity influences ecosystem readiness and potential for collaboration
  • Understand how organizations develop the competencies needed to thrive within broader innovation networks
• Strategic application
  • Use ecosystem concepts to inform strategic thinking and decision-making
  • Reflect on your own potential role and contribution within an innovation ecosystem

Course content

This modular journey is divided into three thematic lessons, each including a quiz to reinforce learning, and a final quiz to consolidate the full module:

1. Innovation Ecosystems intro
   1 Quiz
   • What ecosystems are
   • How they emerge
   • Why they matter for innovation-driven growth
2. Innovation ecosystem governance
   1 Quiz
   • Stakeholder roles
   • Collaboration structures
   • Governance models and decision-making
3. Innovation capabilities and maturity
   1 Quiz
   • What innovation capability means
   • Maturity stages and assessment
   • How maturity shapes ecosystem readiness

• Final Quiz – evaluate your understanding across all three lessons.

Further details

• Format: Online, self-paced
• Developed by: Riga Technical University
• Instructor:Kristaps Banga - Senior Innovation Expert, RTU; PhD Researcher
• Duration / Training Dates: Flexible start and completion (self-paced)