From Research to Impact: Lessons in Human-Centered Innovation
What happens when cutting-edge technology meets lived experience?
In a recent episode of the R&D Management Podcast, we sat down with Daniel Hajas, a physicist, researcher, innovation manager, and advocate for disability inclusion. His journey from theoretical physics to building startups—and now leading innovation strategy at the Global Disability Innovation Hub—is more than just inspiring. It’s a roadmap for how R&D, business, and human experience can (and should) intersect.
Here are five powerful lessons from our conversation:
1. Start With the Problem—Not the Technology
Daniel’s journey began when he lost his sight at 16. Instead of stopping his academic pursuits, he leaned into them—earning a degree in theoretical physics and exploring how to make complex diagrams and equations accessible through tactile interfaces.
He eventually co-founded a student startup to address this very problem.
“We focused so much on the technology. We didn’t ask if it was what people really needed.”
Lesson: Whether you're building in AI, biotech, or accessibility—start with the user problem. If it’s not real, urgent, or scalable, it’s not a business. It might still be impactful (and that’s okay), but clarity on that distinction matters.
2. Innovation ≠ Invention
Many technologists fall in love with their inventions. Daniel’s job as an innovation manager is to be the one asking the hard questions:
Who needs this?
What is the business model?
Have you considered IP?
Is this really viable in the real world?
“It’s like falling in love with your idea. My job is to help you see through the pink cloud.”
Lesson: Ideas need to be stress-tested—not just through technical validation, but market, ecosystem, and usability checks.
3. Fail Fast, But with Purpose
Daniel’s first startup didn’t make it. But that “failure” gave him exactly what many never get early in their careers—a lens for impact, sustainability, and systems thinking.
Now, he runs accelerator programs that help startups in East Africa and South Asia fail smarter—testing what works, what doesn’t, and sharing that knowledge freely.
Lesson: Failing fast is not enough. You must build systems that harvest insight from failure and feed it back into the innovation cycle.
4. Accessibility Requires Systems Thinking
Daniel highlights how local context, cultural stigma, and affordability can make or break assistive tech—even when the product is perfect.
A great wheelchair doesn’t help if it’s abandoned after two weeks.
A hearing aid can be stigmatizing in the wrong cultural setting.
The best solution might be too expensive for users in lower-income countries.
“Sometimes the barrier isn’t the tech—it’s stigma, infrastructure, or policy.”
Lesson: Innovating for underserved populations means thinking beyond the product: distribution, service models, social acceptance, and regulation all matter.
5. Design With, Not For
Perhaps the most powerful insight from Daniel’s work is his call for co-design, not just user feedback. In disability innovation, you need people with lived experience involved from the start—not as testers, but as co-creators.
“It’s not build–measure–learn. It’s co-design–measure–learn.”
Lesson: Build your innovation process on empathy, equity, and inclusion. The closer you are to the real needs of people, the stronger your innovation becomes.
Final Thought
Daniel’s story is a vivid reminder: Technology is only meaningful when it serves people. And managing R&D today means thinking beyond the lab—into ecosystems, human factors, policies, and impact.
So whether you’re an entrepreneur, researcher, or innovation manager, ask yourself:
Are we solving the right problem?
Are we building with the right people?
Are we measuring the right kind of success?
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