UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Friday, 7 September 2017 at 11.30 a.m.
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR JAN ROSIER, School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science on 7 September 2018, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa on GARY PAUL PISANO.
Good afternoon ladies, gentlemen, colleagues, graduates and distinguished guests. First of all I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to each and every one of you who have graduated. This is an exceptional day for yourself, your families and all those who have helped you to achieve this important goal. It is also an exceptional day because it celebrates your freedom to start building a fulfilling life not only for yourself but also for your fellow citizens. It is also the start of a lifelong learning process that will make you appreciate and understand the goodness of the diversity of opinions and perspectives.
Today we also celebrate the achievements of one particular individual who will be awarded a doctorate `Honoris Causa’ in Literature at UCD. This degree is an honorific title granted to recognise a person of distinction whose knowledge, wisdom and global impact are considered exemplary. We are privileged to have with us today professor Gary Pisano of Harvard University on whom this degree will be conferred. Professor Pisano has dedicated his career to education and research of the world of business and more specifically the world of the business of science and technology. Gary Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, is an economist with a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and B.A. in economics Magna Cum Laude from Yale University. Professor Pisano is also well known at UCD as the recipient of the Laurence Crowley Lectureship of the Business of Biotechnology in 2016.
Gary Pisano joined the Harvard faculty in 1988 and is the author of over 70 articles and case studies. His "Restoring American Competitiveness" was recognized as the best article published in Harvard Business Review in 2009. He is also co-author of the award winning article, "Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management", one of the most widely cited publications in economics and business since 1995. He is an author of six books including The Development Factory; Operations, Strategy, and Technology and became world renowned for his book Science Business: The Promise, The Reality and The Future of Biotech.
In Science Business, Professor Pisano answers the question why the biotechnology industry at that time failed to perform up to expectations despite all its promise, by providing an incisive critique of the industry. Pisano not only revealed the underlying causes of biotech's problems; he offered a critical analysis of the industry which led to a new stream of research and literature that addresses the business of biotechnology. He provided a roadmap for companies and their management teams who were looking for ways to improve their industry’s performance. But more importantly Professor Pisano opened a new avenue for understanding and critically analysing and studying the industry. It has become the starting point for an increased interest in the social impact of the industry, its life saving developments and achievements and even more importantly its responsibility towards society. One of the keys that would transform the industry lies - according to Pisano - in a greater emphasis on a long-term involvement of capital, academia and science rather than the current short term monetization. These words written about 10 years ago resonate today. Doing so professor Pisano has drawn our attention not only to the need of responsible management of these firms but also to the need of critically observing and studying the industry and how it can contribute to move scientific breakthroughs into society. Biotech firms, we should not forget, are the vehicles par excellence through which the fruits of biomedical and biomolecular academic research reaches all of us.
Besides his interest in the study of the biotechnology industry, his most recent book Producing Prosperity also addresses the importance of manufacturing. For years this country has welcomed and is still welcoming pharmaceutical manufacturing firms, a wise decision as it attracts high quality businesses, high-value product manufacturing and highly educated individuals. According to Pisano however we should not perceive manufacturing capabilities as mere production sites but as sources of innovation and competition. He shows how today's manufacturing operations hold the seeds of tomorrow's innovative new products, arguing that companies must keep reinvesting in new product and process development. This constitutes an enormous opportunity for this country. If Ireland wants to sustain an environment that fosters a great manufacturing culture, it will need to focus on those elements that increases its attractiveness by conducting exploratory and breakthrough manufacturing research and by introducing and expanding current manufacturing expertise in and around our academia.
Professor Pisano’s research and teaching shows that by a critical analysis and understanding of high technology industries such as the business of biotechnology, a performant conduit can be developed for continued diffusion of biomedical innovation into society acting as a powerful engine towards prosperity for all.
Today, with the conferring of the doctorate Honoris Causa of Gary Pisano at UCD, we recognise an outstanding academic committed to scientific advancement and economic prosperity.
Thank you.
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus in Litteris; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.