An innovation training program only works if it provides practical application and aligns with your long-term goals with the training. Workshops, hands-on tools, real-world case studies, and experiential learning are critical, especially in roles that demand ingenuity. They equip teams to take what they learn and put it to work—right away.
Nestle’s journey highlights the potential of a well-chosen innovation training. IMD’s hands-on training program led Nestle to use lean startup principles and align R&D strategy with leadership development. This approach enabled the creation of NEXBTL technology, reducing emissions by 90% and driving a fivefold market valuation increase.
Nestle’s path to implementing an L&D program was complex, required careful planning, and took a while to be impactful. When looking for L&D programs, many innovation leaders face one common problem – overwhelming choices – too many innovation training courses, books, and workshops.
To help innovation leaders such as yourself, GreyB reviewed 50 training programs and identified the eight options that you can look into right away. Each course is evaluated on duration, cost, faculty expertise, and hands-on experience.
These programs are designed to maximize your budget by enabling faster prototyping, improving external collaboration, and enhancing problem-solving—all without adding extra strain to your team.
1. Harvard University’s Open Innovation Certificate Course: Learn from NASA’s Approach to Open Innovation
| Duration | March 2025 and June 2025, 6 Weeks (2-4 hours a week) |
| Cost | $950 |
| Faculty | Karim R. Lakhani, Co-founder of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard |
This program examines how organizations can apply open innovation strategies using detailed tools, platforms, and methodologies. Through examples like NASA’s Tournament Lab, the course explores how global contests have been used to solve engineering challenges, reduce costs, and expedite solutions. Participants are introduced to modules such as “Contests” and “Online Labor Markets,” which explain the processes of designing, managing, and scaling innovation contests to engage external talent pools.
Case studies further contextualize these lessons. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute utilized global AI contests to address medical imaging challenges, attracting diverse contributors and delivering innovative solutions. Similarly, Tidelift demonstrated how open innovation principles can sustain open-source software projects, emphasizing collaboration within developer communities.
This course provides enough details, tips and real-world examples to utilize open innovation as a strategy within any organization. It helped explain the different tools, platforms, tactics and flexibilities to use depending on the business outcomes required. This course saves a lot of time in understanding all the nuances of open innovation rather than learning it on the job. I should have taken this course earlier!
Ed Wong, Director of Possibilities, HeroX
2. Stanford University’s Leading Innovation Course: Strategies for R&D Leadership Excellence
| Duration | 12 hours, 30 minutes |
| Cost | $995.00 |
| Faculty | Robert Sutton, an expert in organizational psychology and innovation, Stanford University |
Stanford’s Leading Innovation Course is a self-paced program that provides R&D leaders with strategies to drive innovation and lead their teams effectively. The course discusses tools and frameworks that can be integrated into daily workflows, focusing on methods leaders can apply to encourage creativity and collaboration in innovation.
The program begins by exploring trust-building and collaboration within teams. Sylvia Acevedo, a former NASA engineer, shares methods for creating environments where team members feel encouraged to share ideas and take risks. Building on this, Perry Klebahn from Stanford’s d.school introduces frameworks for balancing routine tasks with creative problem-solving, highlighting how leaders can embed innovative thinking into everyday operations. Carl Liebert, a global business leader, provides insights into navigating uncertainty, offering strategies for guiding teams through challenging situations while maintaining momentum.
Without a doubt, I made the best decision by enrolling in this course. The information shared by Professor Robert and the contributions of the experts have been incredible, they give you many tools to keep your leadership on track and you learn and question a lot of what you have been doing. Totally recommended.
Cynthia Limaymanta, CX Lead, Interbank
An example of the course’s application comes from HSBC. The company worked with Stanford professors to create the Design Thinking 101 course, which introduced frameworks for addressing organizational challenges. Participants reported using these methods in their workflows to approach challenges more creatively.
3. MIT Innovation Leadership Bootcamp: Developing Leadership and Innovation Skills
| Duration | 10 week online program |
| Cost | $6,500 |
| Faculty | Bill Aulet, Luis Perez-Breva, Marina Hatsopoulos |
The MIT Innovation Leadership Bootcamp program provides R&D leaders and aspiring innovators with tools and frameworks for participants to simplify complex challenges into actionable steps and explore opportunities for corporate innovation.
The program offers a structured approach to entrepreneurial innovation. It helps participants identify opportunities, craft solutions, and design business models. The tools and frameworks move ideas from concept to implementation. Participants gain leadership experience by working in diverse, global teams, where roles are rotated, including serving as the team’s CEO. Weekly coaching sessions with MIT-trained experts provide actionable feedback on team dynamics and project progress, enabling participants to refine their approaches.
The frameworks shared during the Bootcamp are designed to address common challenges, such as managing risks and fostering team collaboration, focusing on methods to drive sustainable impact within their organizations.
Hanchul KimDirector, Corporate Growth Strategy at SamsungI reckon that the MIT Bootcamp will be an excellent experience for anyone who got to innovate and contribute to society. The Bootcamp is a very good starting point for anyone who is eager to learn how to innovate.
I’d recommend this program to the people working for big enterprises because this program focuses on what is at the core of any business.
Participants have successfully applied the program’s teachings across various industries. For example, the 2023 Venture Advancement Program brought together 48 innovators from six continents. They used the Bootcamp’s frameworks to scale their projects and leverage MIT’s ecosystem for growth. Similarly, Banco do Brasil implemented Bootcamp principles in a tailored workshop involving 40 executives from 36 departments to integrate innovation into their organizational innovation culture.
4. INSEAD’s Program: AI and Digital Transformation for Senior R&D Leaders
| Duration | 5 days in Singapore |
| Cost | S$ 16,950 |
| Faculty | Nathan Furr, Jason P. Davis |
The INSEAD Digital Transformation and AI Leadership Program provides senior executives and R&D leaders with strategies to integrate AI and other digital technologies. Drawing insights from research involving over 400 firms and experiences shared by CXOs, the program provides tools to address organizational challenges and scale AI effectively.
The program focuses on transitioning AI initiatives, such as predictive analytics and generative AI, from pilot projects to full-scale implementation. For instance, participants analyze how digital business models and ecosystems can reshape value chains while addressing scalability and risk management. The curriculum also emphasizes navigating disruption, using frameworks to help leaders adapt strategies and seize industry opportunities.
Participants gain insights into organizational agility by exploring methods to foster collaboration and build digital-ready cultures. The program introduces innovation tools like lean startup principles and design thinking, helping leaders develop actionable plans. For example, case discussions demonstrate how these methodologies are applied to create new business models or improve internal innovation culture.
The programme gives you access to really great profiles, both in peers and in faculty. You gain extraordinary insights and real-world examples that you can immediately translate for your own business needs and processes. So you end up applying what you learn very much in a day-to-day dynamic. To put it very simply: with INSEAD, you come in and get what you need.
Hadj Latreche, Senior leader Roche, Switzerland
5. IMD’s Disruptive Innovation Program: A Framework-Based Approach to Disruptive Innovation
| Duration | 5 weeks online program |
| Cost | CHF 1,950 |
| Faculty | William A. Fischer, Emeritus Professor of Innovation Management |
The IMD Disruptive Innovation Program provides leaders with actionable frameworks to rethink conventional approaches, foster innovation, and navigate uncertainty. This program provides participants with strategies to address disruption and integrate tools into organizational processes, focusing on fostering creativity and driving meaningful change within teams.
IMD’s Disruptive Innovation: Program highlights
The program aims to align innovation strategies with organizational needs, using examples like Mars Petcare’s application of the Pathfinder methodology. This framework, discussed during the program, enabled Mars Petcare to identify key stakeholder challenges, such as pet adoption and healthcare. By implementing initiatives like Whistle, a pet health monitoring platform, and VETgirl, a veterinarian education service, the company reoriented its strategy around holistic pet health, contributing to significant growth between 2014 and 2022.
Disruptive Innovation made me see myself as a global innovator by making me discover the qualities of an innovative leader such as exploring, taking risks, and being open and inclusive. I also gained relevant tools and insights for managing uncertainties in my industry, leading teams, and implementing culture change.
Florence Gadzama, Microbiologist, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd, Nigeria
Participants also examine creative problem-solving approaches. By incorporating lean startup principles explored in the course, Nestle restructured its leadership strategies to prioritize sustainability. The company transitioned from oil refining to renewable fuels. Through its proprietary NEXBTL technology, the company developed renewable diesel that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing its market position and boosting valuation.
6. Kellogg’s Leading and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation: Strategies for Agility and Long-Term Success
| Duration | April 7-10, 2025 and September 15-18, 2025 (In-person at Wieboldt Hall on Chicago Campus) |
| Cost | $9000 |
| Faculty | Thomas D. Kuczmarski, James Gerard Conley, Harry M. Kraemer |
Kellogg’s Leading and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation program examines how senior leaders can foster adaptability and embed innovation culture into their organizations.
The program focuses on frameworks for fostering innovative behaviors within teams. For example, Capital Public Radio shifted from a “format-first” approach, centered on broadcasting formats, to a “story-first” strategy, emphasizing audience-centered storytelling. This transition, achieved in just two months, significantly enhanced their digital presence and improved audience engagement by aligning content creation with evolving listener preferences.
Participants also analyze leadership strategies that support creativity and resilience. Personalized coaching sessions allow participants to develop Innovation Culture Blueprints. This aspect emphasizes the importance of leadership in shaping a culture that encourages innovation.
Within two months of having attended the program, our organization has adopted a creative and forward-looking strategy for our digital platforms. This program is a must for all senior leaders.
COO/CFO, Capital Public Radio, Sacramento, CA Area
The program integrates tools and frameworks to help participants apply innovation to growth strategies. A notable example is DuPont’s Market Driven Growth (MDG) process, which demonstrates how businesses can navigate market disruptions by realigning strategies with evolving customer demands. By identifying new opportunities during periods of disruption, DuPont successfully adapted its operations and sustained long-term growth through innovative practices.
7. Rice University’s Leading Innovation Program: Strengthening Teams, Processes, and Culture for Lasting Impact
| Duration | April 28-30, 2025 (8:30 am to 4:30 pm) |
| Cost | $4,875 |
| Faculty | Jing Zhou, Ph.D., Deputy Dean of Academic Affairs, Rice Business |
Rice University’s Leading Innovation program examines strategies for fostering innovation across organizations by focusing on people, processes, and culture. The course explores methods for addressing challenges in building systems that encourage collaboration, creative problem-solving, and adaptability.
Participants discuss leading teams, focusing on methods to align cross-functional groups toward common innovation goals. The program also covers the entire innovation lifecycle, from generating ideas to implementing and using design thinking tools to connect innovation efforts with organizational strategies and ecosystems.
The curriculum encourages participants to analyze organizational environments to identify factors supporting or hindering innovation.
I have tackled innovation leadership and contributor roles over the years, and this is the first time that I’ve learned of tools and models that can help innovation programs succeed. I can use a lot of the teachings in my day-to-day activities.
Product Development Technical Professional, Energy
Additional resources, including the Liu Idea Lab and Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, offer participants opportunities to apply course concepts.
Conclusion
The right training programs do more than improve skills; they prepare R&D teams to tackle challenges, collaborate, and drive innovation. To integrate effective training models:
- Identify Skill Gaps: Focus on emerging technologies, cross-functional collaboration, or problem-solving.
- Use Practical Modules: Break training into focused sessions with hands-on projects and real-world applications.
- Encourage Peer Learning: Foster workshops and mentoring to reinforce skills and teamwork.
- Integrate Learning into Workflows: Provide ongoing, on-demand learning instead of one-off sessions.
- Measure and Adapt: Track outcomes and refine programs to keep them relevant.
Well-designed training models provide the foundation for a strong innovation culture, helping teams develop and implement solutions that shorten product development cycles.
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