Author: Maksim

Throughout my career, working with thousands of innovators, startup founders, researchers, and investors, I have observed both successful and struggling models of fostering innovation. From launching government innovation programs to establishing accelerators, incubators, and research acceleration initiatives, I have learned a crucial lesson—developing innovation and entrepreneurship as standalone efforts or isolated initiatives is rarely effective.

Sustainable innovation requires a dynamic and interconnected ecosystem—one that integrates support mechanisms, project pipelines, acceleration events, industry collaborations, and real-world application pathways into a cohesive structure.

I am always happy to share my experience with universities, particularly smaller private schools that are taking their first steps in developing innovation initiatives.

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Innovation Events

Some well-tested events require minimal resources to organize yet can have a significant impact on fostering innovation.

• Hackathons
• Pitch Competitions
• Idea Crush-Tests
• Acceleration Events
• Networking Events
• Startup Showcases
• Innovation Forums
• And many more…

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Innovation Infrastructure

Several key initiatives can be developed and launched simultaneously, complementing each other and creating a strong foundation for sustainable innovation:

• Incubator
• Accelerator
• Innovation Center
• Co-Working Space
• Research Acceleration Center
• Innovation Events & Programs
• Contests and Challenges
• Partnership and Fundraising Activities
• New Educational Curricula

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The Pace of Innovation

Based on my experience, innovation development systems evolve quickly—sometimes even faster than expected. Attracting partners is often easier than it seems. A highly effective approach is inviting them to utilize university infrastructure, including conference rooms, meeting spaces, and co-working facilities.

I have firsthand experience in launching an innovation hub from scratch that, within just a year, was supporting over a thousand innovation projects. It quickly began collaborating with researchers, investors, government programs, industry leaders, and other stakeholders, ultimately becoming a regional center for innovation infrastructure.

I am always happy to share knowledge, provide guidance, or offer insights to universities—without any expectations in return.

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I am also happy to send you PDF versions of any of my books or articles, including Empowering Innovations and Research Acceleration, completely free of charge. If these resources can help support your innovation development initiatives, feel free to reach out.

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Let’s Connect

If you are working on scaling innovation or entrepreneurship efforts at your university and need insights on structuring an innovation ecosystem, organizing events and activities, or any other related topics, please contact me using the form below.

Throughout my career, I have worked with thousands of researchers, innovators, investors, and stakeholders while leading innovation development programs in government. Establishing innovation centers, incubators, technoparks, venture funds, and other transformative initiatives was a relatively straightforward process when I could handpick the most motivated researchers and provide them with the necessary knowledge, infrastructure, funding, and collaborative networks to scale their projects.

However, my experiences in academia—both in my home country and later in the United States and Europe—revealed a stark contrast. Research processes, particularly in the soft sciences, were often less intensive and multidimensional. Too frequently, research outcomes remained confined to academic publications in niche journals, with little impact beyond academic circles. If we are to address global challenges, shape policy, commercialize innovations, influence mindsets, advance sustainability, improve well-being, or leave a lasting legacy, we must rethink how research is conducted, communicated, and applied. The current model must shift to one that integrates innovative strategies designed to accelerate and amplify research impact.

One of the most pressing issues I have observed is the way researchers receive critical feedback—often for the first time only after submitting their papers to journals. By that stage, it is usually too late to make meaningful revisions to the research design, methodology, or data analysis. This reactive approach forces researchers to modify their work primarily to satisfy reviewers rather than to enhance its substance. Feedback should come at the idea stage, when it has the greatest potential to shape and refine the research.

To address this, I developed the “Idea Crush Test” format, which allows researchers and innovators to receive early constructive criticism when their ideas are still forming. Having organized more than 50 Idea Crush Tests, I have seen firsthand how this approach fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, strengthens research design, and prevents wasted effort on projects that could have been significantly improved from the outset.

Another major obstacle in academia is the rigid structure of academic conferences and events. Having organized over 300 events, I have witnessed their enormous potential for launching projects, fostering collaboration, and attracting resources. However, traditional academic conferences often fail to deliver on this potential. Researchers typically attend to present their findings, answer a few questions, and compete for best paper awards, but rarely do these events lead to new research directions, interdisciplinary collaborations, or practical applications.

To truly accelerate research, we must rethink the format of academic events. Conferences should go beyond passive presentations and incorporate strategic brainstorming sessions, Idea Crush Tests, interactive workshops, multidisciplinary meetings, project-matching activities, creative presentation formats, commercialization reactors, hackathons, and debates. Some of history’s most groundbreaking scientific discoveries emerged from formal and informal academic discussions. Yet, in the hundreds of conferences I have attended, opportunities to break free from standardized, repetitive formats have been rare. These missed opportunities highlight the urgent need for more engaging, collaborative, and dynamic academic events.

I recently wrote the book “Research Acceleration,” where I explore various methodologies for expediting the research process and increasing its impact. Drawing from my experience in academia, government, and innovation programs, this book offers practical strategies for universities, research institutions, and policymakers seeking to improve research outcomes, attract funding, and enhance collaboration.

Beyond writing about research acceleration, I actively work on developing new formats for research acceleration events and hosting them whenever time permits. My goal is to create more dynamic, interactive, and results-driven approaches to academic gatherings that foster meaningful discussions, interdisciplinary cooperation, and practical applications of research.

I am ready to help develop and host research acceleration events that go beyond traditional academic formats. Whether through idea validation sessions, research hackathons, commercialization-focused events, or customized formats for specific research disciplines, I am always eager to collaborate with institutions and organizations looking to transform the way research is conducted, shared, and applied.

Contact

If I can be of help in developing research acceleration events, please contact me using the form below. I look forward to exploring new ways to push the boundaries of research and innovation together.

The COST Action on Tourism Impacts aims to foster collaboration between various fields and organizations to jointly develop an overarching framework for assessing and improving the impacts of tourism.

• Conduct a thorough analysis of the current state of tourism impact research, identifying evidence gaps and exploring opportunities for advancing research, practice, and policy.
• Facilitate the exchange of multidisciplinary knowledge to establish a unified research agenda addressing the multifaceted dimensions of tourism impacts.
• Bridge existing knowledge, practices, and communication gaps across different European regions and countries to foster greater collaboration and understanding.
• Coordinate research initiatives aimed at developing a comprehensive framework for evaluating tourism impacts, including the creation of new methods, research instruments, classifications, and recommendations.
• Collaborate closely with stakeholders to ensure that research findings are effectively translated into actionable programs and policies.
• Strengthen the knowledge base of academia, research centers, and stakeholders by enhancing access to and dissemination of relevant research findings and insights.
• Align and coordinate future research efforts to further explore and address tourism impacts.

• Establish an interdisciplinary network of experts across European regions and beyond by integrating currently separate research communities.
• Facilitate involvement and dialogue among researchers, stakeholders, and the general public through organized workshops and forums.
• Enhance global research collaboration by actively participating in international networks and fostering partnerships with researchers from neighboring and third countries.
• Develop and maintain digital platforms to effectively share information, research findings, and updates with a broad audience.
• Provide training and mentorship programs to build competence and support the career development of the next generation of researchers and sustainable tourism professionals.
• Develop and disseminate policy briefs and recommendations to assist stakeholders and policymakers in creating sustainable tourism programs and policies.
• Identify and secure additional resources and funding to ensure the continuation of activities beyond the COST Action period.

Working Groups

• WG1: Socio-Economic Impacts of Tourism
• WG2: Environmental Impacts of Tourism
• WG3: Well-being Impacts of Tourism
• WG4: Networking and Stakeholder Involvement
• WG5: Dissemination and Capacity Building
• WG6: Policy Suggestions

Join the COST Action

If you are interested in joining the COST Action on Tourism Impacts, please contact us by filling out the form below.