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Prestigious McGill Entrepreneurship Conference comes to Birkbeck

Annual conference to explore international entrepreneurship in a multi-speed global economy

Current challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurial internationalisation will be explored at a prestigious conference this week.

Prominent scholars, practitioners and policy makers from nearly 20 countries will gather in London for the 19th McGill International Entrepreneurship (MIE) Conference. Running from August 27 - 29, the conference will this year be hosted by the Department of Management at Birkbeck, University of London.

This year’s programme focuses on international entrepreneurship in a multi-speed global economy, including an exploration of the growth of ‘born globals’, entrepreneurial opportunity, innovation, internationalisation, and the issues raised by such factors as digitalisation and sustainability.

These themes will be examined within a packed programme of more than 60 presentations being held across the three days, including plenary, parallel and doctoral sessions, as well as a series of networking opportunities and a formal dinner.

Business plenary

  • Speakers at the business plenary lecture, held on Thursday, 27 August, will share insights on how small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might best leverage growth opportunities, and mitigate challenges and risks of the contemporary multi-speed global economy.
  • The speakers will be:
  • Dr Jonathan Potter, Senior Economist with the OECD and Visiting Professor at Birkbeck
  • Stephen Ibboston, Director of Business, Finance and Management at Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
  • Dr Muthu da Silva, Specialist and advisor on entrepreneurial co-creation at the Big Innovation Centre
  • Gerald La Touche, founder/MD of La Touche Global Ltd

Keynote plenary

  • Speakers at the keynote plenary on Friday, 28 August, will share insights on how the international entrepreneurship (IE) field, IE theory and policy-making might further support entrepreneurial SMEs operating internationally and boost the faltering post-crisis global economy.
  • The speakers will be:
  • Trevor Williams, Chief Economist, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking
  • Professor Erkko Autio, Chair in Technology Venturing and Entrepreneurship at Imperial College London Business School
  • Professor Becky Reuber, Professor of Strategic Management at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
  • Professor Pavlos Dimitratos, Professor of International Business and Entrepreneurship at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Established in 1998 by McGill University’s Faculty of Management, Montreal, the conference series is designed to bring together leading academic scholars and insightful practitioners from the fields of international entrepreneurship and international business in order to examine topical issues affecting small and medium sized enterprises committed to international and entrepreneurial growth paths.

Speaking about the 2015 programme, Professor Kevin Ibeh, chair of the conference and head of Birkbeck’s Department of Management, said:

“I am delighted to welcome such a wonderful array of top thinkers and practitioners to the college for what is set to be a fascinating and insightful programme. This year’s conference follows from the MIE’s well-established tradition of examining frontier and topical issues impacting upon entrepreneurial internationalisation, relating to a spectrum of organisations from entrepreneurially-orientated small firms, to high growth firms.

“These firms are rightly acclaimed for their sustained contributions to global economic growth over the past few decades, and their border-transcending entrepreneurial activities are even more critically needed in the current stuttering world economy, which continues to present diverging levels of growth and opportunities across countries and sectors.”

The 19th McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference will be held at Birkbeck, University of London from Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 August.

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