The University of Amsterdam and the VU University Amsterdam will launch one of the first European university centers for service innovation: the Amsterdam Academic Centre for Service Innovation (AMSI). Innovation is a major characteristic of the service economy. There is an increasing need for managers who possess expertise in both business administration and information technology, along with the ability to apply this knowledge to create successful innovations. The new centre will offer study programmes for executives and stimulate scientific research related to managing innovation processes in service industries.