Business and academic leaders will gather at the 20th BMDA Conference in Kaunas
The last few years will be recorded as a turning point in modern history. The global pandemic and the return of war in Europe not only led to a rethinking of the values of society, business, and other areas but also brought a lot of uncertainty and fear. Accordingly, most business representatives, academic leaders, and policymakers agree that fundamental changes in the social and economic fields are inevitable today.
Therefore, representatives of business, academia, and society are invited to discuss current challenges and possibilities at the 20th international conference organized by the Baltic Management Development Association (further – BMDA) on 5-7 October in Kaunas.
“Today’s geopolitical, economic, and social challenges are leading us into a new era. We will witness a dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order in which business and society have hitherto operated. What is the new normal? What are the rights, and responsibilities of business, academic, and government institutions? How do we deal with the sense of fragility and uncertainty that surrounds society and the organization nowadays? These are just some of the important questions that business, academia, and society need to answer today,” says Dr. Virginijus Kundrotas, the Honorary President of BMDA.
Between digitization, sustainability, and value creation
The dynamic and unpredictable current geopolitical background and the opportunities for digitization opened by the Fourth Industrial Revolution are stimulating an active debate about the future between science, business, and public sector leaders.
“The BMDA conference is like a bridge between the academic and business worlds, creating an environment for the growth of both sectors. Every year, the conference shares relevant, constantly responding insights, new practices, and new partnerships. This year, the conference program will discuss the lessons we have learned in the context of pandemics and war, the new reality, the geopolitical background, and the challenges and opportunities arising from it,” says Edita Gimžauskienė, the President of BMDA and the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management at KTU.
Accordingly, the leaders of science and business are invited to participate in a yearly conference for the twentieth time organized by BMDA, to discuss the priorities of modern society: digitization, sustainability, and value creation processes. This year the conference will be held at Kaunas University of Technology (further – KTU).
“The conference subject is digitalization in terms how do you use digital technologies to create economic and social value. The subject has become a lot more important over the past several months, since we are facing not only the consequences of pandemics, but also big geopolitical and economic issues. The conference will answer the questions that are both relevant to business and academic leaders”, says Takis Damaskopoulos, the chairman of the BMDA and the chair holder of the “In4Act” project.
Academics and business leaders from around the world
Held annually since 2002, the yearly conference is the largest annual event at the BMDA, bringing together hundreds of deans, rectors, university program managers, business leaders, public figures, and other professionals from around the world. As usual, the three-day conference will feature presentations by world-known experts and productive networking possibilities.
“From the very beginning, the BMDA has promoted the quality of management development in the Baltic region and beyond, contributing to research, providing educational services, and relevant contacts to companies and institutions. Over time, we have become a virtual bridge between Eastern and Western management schools, allowing the exchange of good practices, opening new opportunities for cooperation and improvement,” says the Honorary President of BMDA.
In its 20 years of operation, the conference has grown significantly, but the quality of the content and the competencies of the speakers have remained at the highest level.
This year special BMDA session will be held for Deans & Directors General of the business schools. It aims to open the discussion about the relevance and impact of the business schools in the ecosystem. Together with Dr. Alfons Sauquet, Director Quality Services and EQIUS at EFMD, participants of this session may expect to get insights about the future of business education from different perspectives- Business schools, Research funding agencies, National and Global accreditations bodies.
An intense agenda
“The jubilee conference in October will maintain the tradition of bringing together business and academia. The program of the event will discuss both the improvement of the content of business schools and the challenges with information about business organizations. In this way every participant will benefit from being a part of the event,” says V. Kundrotas.
On the 5th of October conference will kick off with an innovative opening event allowing participants to get to know each other and create a friendly atmosphere for the upcoming intensive days of the conference.
A three-day program of knowledge accumulation and networking will end on 7th of October with a traditional BMDA awards ceremony, live music, entertainment, and dancing.
More information about the event program and announcements can be found and registered HERE.