Ward Ooms is Associate Professor of Innovation Management with the Faculty of Management at the Open University of the Netherlands. Ward his research is devoted to understanding how firms, other organizations, and individuals within organizations can collaborate effectively in order to speed up innovation processes, to avoid barriers in innovation, and to innovate responsibly. He is particularly interested in stuyding the effects of proximity between partners in inter-organizational collaboration and open innovation, and also developing a research line about inclusive innovation and research. Studies by Ward Ooms were published in leading academic journals, such as Technovation, California Management Review, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and Journal of Business Research. Furthermore, his academic achievements were recognized via various awards, including the Kremers Award 2019 for his PhD dissertation and the runner-up award for the Kaja Rangus Best Emerging Scholar competition at WOIC 2019.

Ward is lecturer of courses at the BSc, MSc, and PhD level. He lectures to students in distance education, regular education, and executive education. Most of Ward's teaching covers topics of (1) innovation management and open innovation and (2) business research methods. Ward is Academic Director of the Bachelor in Business Administration (BSc) at the Open University of the Netherlands, and was Interim Head of Department to the Department of Strategic Management (2022-2023).