Watch the video presentation and

access our detailed survey results

here

InnoWaTr Centre of Expertise

57

Technological advancements alone

will not be transformative for IWTs , they

rather improve existing systems without

causing significant disruption and not

leading to broader usage of IWT !

During an invited talk on the multi - day project meeting of AUTOBarge ( in

Hamburg in November 2024 ) , Lars Stemmler and Sabrina Wilms conducted a

short survey on the leading aspects of innovations in inland water shipping .

The data suggests that the innovation process is viewed predominantly as a

group effort of many aspects rather than a purely technological one .

However , there seems to be a significant challenge in ensuring that all group

members share a common goal , which may hinder the effectiveness of the

innovation process therefore yielding to a cooperation rather than a true

collaboration This points to the importance of fostering communication

and alignment within teams to enhance innovation outcomes

The results here challenge the prevailing narrative that often emphasizes

technological advancements as the primal driver of innovation

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AUTOBarge meets InnoWaTr

Lars Stemmler and Sabrina Wilms

Additionally , individual entities in these processes are often highlighted ( like

Steve Jobs in Apple ) , hence underrepresenting the critical role of

collaborative processes as groups in fostering innovation . Furthermore , the

data suggests that a shared understanding of common goals within

collaborative groups is not consistently present , indicating potential barriers

to effective teamwork and innovation outcomes if common goals are not set

or discussed clearly and often .