The annual Research Forum is the flagship research-outreach event of EU Business School. Held annually in Geneva in the month of October, the Research Forum seeks to establish EU Business School as a platform for high level discussions and agenda-setting with a diverse range of actors from academia, business and industry, international and governmental organizations, NGOs, and States. The foci of the Forum are to discuss global issues, generate new ideas, and explore the potential for holistic solutions by connecting different players. The Forum helps us to discover new directions for research and collaboration and showcase our existing commitments and progress. The theme for the Forum is renewed every year which allows us to stay dynamic and cutting-edge.
SPEAKERS
Dirk Craen
President, EU Business School
Luc Craen
Vice President & Managing Director, EU Business School
Adolf Ogi
Former President of the Swiss Confederation
Yves Leterme
Secretary General, International IDEA & Former Prime Minister of Belgium
Hans Vemer
CEO, Concept Foundation
Matthew Wilson
Chief Advisor & Chef de Cabinet, International Trade Center
Adrian Hallmark
Chairman & CEO, Bentley Motors
Diego Gilardoni
Business Consultant, Author, China Expert, TED Speaker
Ugo Ikpeazu
Development Consultant, EU Business School Research Associate
Li Zhang
Gavi Director Strategic Innovation and New Investors Hub
Giovanni Di Cola
Special Advisor, Office of Deputy Director General, International Labour Organization
Geoffrey Hamilton
Chief, Cooperation & Partnerships Section, UNECE
Nathaly Palma
Researcher
Nadine Reichenthal
Professor, UNIL-HEC
H.E Ravesa Lleshi
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations
Nidal Salim
Founder, Global Institute for Water, Environment & Health
Lisa Ventura
Head, CSO Communities and Societies, World Economic Forum
Dominique Tombeur
President, DT International
Patrick Gantes
Director, CRES
Edouard Bizumuremyi
Commercial Attaché (Commercial Counsellor) at the Permanent Mission of Rwanda
H.E Robert Salama
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malawi to the United Nations
Alfred De Zayas
UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, Lawyer, Professor, Author, Human Rights Activist
Judit Kozenkow
Professor of Economics, EU Business School
H.E Léopold Ismael Samba
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Confederation, and Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic to the United Nations in Geneva
Jon-Hans Coetzer
Chief Academic Officer, EU Business School
Stef de Jong
Academic Dean, Swiss Campuses, EU Business School
Suddha Chakravartti
Head of Research, EU Business School
AGENDA
8:30 – 9:15
Registration & Welcome Coffee
9:15 – 9:30
Sustainable Development, Partnerships for Development
9:30 – 10.00
Keynote Address
10:00 – 11:00
Paper Presentations
The Increasing Role of Businesses in Driving Innovation for Development
11:00 – 12:30
Moderated Panel
The Role of Public-Private Collaborations in Sustainable Development
12:30 – 14:00
Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30
Moderated Panel
Our Shared Future
15:30 – 16:00
Closing Note
16:00
Network Cocktails
“Humanizing Public-Private Partnership Pays”
The transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a response to the need for new approaches to partnering and innovating. The EU Business School established the Research Forum as a direct response to the global call for greater alignment in the advancement of humanity’s collective ideals.
The research forum served as a knowledge sharing platform for leaders from academia, politics, business and civil society, with the inaugural edition focused on the medium of public-private collaboration for development. The inaugural edition allowed participants from organisations including representatives from the world of academic, international organizations, NGOs, global private sector leaders, and country representatives, to share some of the solutions that have driven change in various contexts.
As a leading business education institution with an international network of campuses, the EUBS has been able to foster strong relationships with the global business community. A strong faculty, an engaged alumni family, and a network of research excellence, allow for objective insight into some of the pressing challenges of the 21st century, as well as insight into the cutting-edge solutions that are driving change.
The ‘Human’ in Leadership
Numerous evolutions in society have led to its current 21stcentury state; a key result of these evolutions, is the increased influence of non-state actors on the daily life of the individual. Part of this progress has meant that development challenges – and solutions – have taken on new forms. The focus of development is now the human. Simultaneously, the international community now recognises development as an on-going function, one that is concerned with the overall wellbeing of the individual – and the relationship of said individual’s well-being with that of the environment.
The Role of Public-Private Collaborations in Sustainable Development
The buzzword of the past decade has gained its fame not because of the need for new ‘development jargon’, but from the inevitable role that the private sector plays in driving innovation for development around the world. ‘Public-private partnerships’ or PPPs, are the relationships formed by governments and businesses, aimed at leveraging business networks and expertise to solve pressing social problems. Simply put, PPPs are the case for the private sector doing what it does best; while building/strengthening social systems in the process.
The future of international collaboration will require stakeholders, whether state or non-state, to build new synergies, transfer established capabilities, and create new cross-cutting capacities. This future will particularly require the international community to recognise businesses and the private sector not as a part of the problem, but as a part of the solution. Technology, the effects of globalisation, and the fourth industrial revolution, make this a near future.
Our Shared Future
On the road to greater collaboration for sustainable and equitable development, communication and knowledge sharing will remain long-time companions of development partners. ‘Humanising Development’, brings the variety of these conventional and unconventional development partners together, towards constructive discussions on development, as well as the evolving roles that are driving its outcomes. The forum will serve as a platform for knowledge sharing that takes advantage of the experience and expertise of leaders on the front-lines of modern socio-economic reform. This platform is crucial to allow the proliferation of best practices, as well as allow stakeholders the opportunity to learn from and avoid the past mistakes of their counterparts. From failed health interventions to successful supply chain solutions, insights gained from the experiences of innovators will ultimately be channelled towards decision making for
EU Business School: Providing the Thought Leadership
On the anniversary of its 45thyear delivering cutting edge business education in Geneva and around the world through its network of campuses and partners, the EU Business School is convening thought leaders on its research platform. From the proximity of its Geneva campus, the Business School is working with leaders from both sectors
By the end of the Forum, participants should have gained an understanding of some of the defining concepts of international development, sustainability, and key challenges as well as innovations that transform the lives of millions of people around the world. The forum will further initiate collaborative research streams that will support the work of the international community in building sustainable solutions for human development.