This Brief presents a new model for business development--MERge--to be
implemented in practitioners' professional development in general and in
the context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
initiatives, particularly, in industry, educational institutions and
public sector organizations. The authors aim to contribute to the field
of innovation and entrepreneurship by merging and consolidating
different methodologies and insights borrowed from the meta-professions
(referring to skills that can be expressed meaningfully after one has
gained disciplinary and professional knowledge) of management,
education, and research. Targeting three key groups--practitioners in
industry, academic institutions and public sector organizations--this
model proposes that all practitioners can further develop their unique
expertise, as well as new skills, while acknowledging and applying the
three meta-professions in their initiatives, on-going work and personal
lives.
The authors acknowledge that in the postmodern era, where barriers
between disciplines are falling in every aspect of professional life,
managerial, educational and research skills are becoming increasingly
essential and interdependent. Featuring case studies that illustrate how
the MERge model is implemented in practice, this volume presents
practical tools for integrating these key skills in a wide variety of
initiatives in business, teaching and research contexts.