Open Innovation Management Model in Medical Sciences' Education:A Case Study of Guilan University of Medical Sciences

Relying only on traditional innovations with closed borders is not enough for educating medical sciences. Open innovation requires new management methods. The purpose of this study was to provide a model for evaluating the status of open innovation management in medical education at Guilan University of  Medical Sciences.

This mixed research was first conducted in a qualitative stage with semi-structured interviews with the managers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences by purposive sampling method until the theoretical saturation was reached. Then, by analyzing the content of the interviews, the components of open innovation management were identified and based on this, a 35-item questionnaire was designed which, after ensuring validity and reliability, was completed by 185 faculty members to determine the status of open innovation management in medical education in Guilan University of Medical Sciences. The Findings were analyzed by SPSS and one-sample t-test.

In the qualitative stage of the research, six components including knowledge management, strategic management, change management in organizational structure and culture, management of environmental factors, networking and management of intellectual property laws were organized and an open innovation management model in medical education was designed. Quantitative findings of the study showed that all components except strategic management and management of environmental factors  with the  mean and standard deviation (3.1±0.7) and (3.06± 0.9) respectively were higher than average  (3)  but the other components were below the average.

Open innovation management in medical sciences education was not in good situation in the most of identified components, which requires the serious attention of the managers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences to the management of  educational innovations based on the open model.