A three-day conference on entrepreneurship is coming to Waterford next week, where 350 researchers from 37 countries will assemble to present papers.
The 38th Annual Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (BCERC), takes place from June 6 to 9 at the WIT Arena in Waterford. It will be the first time the conference has come to Ireland. Previously, it has been held in universities in Norway, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the US, Canada and the UK.
BCERC is highly regarded on the entrepreneurial research conference calendar. It was established in 1981 to provide an opportunity for academics and real-world practitioners to link theory and practice, and to encourage and increase quality research in entrepreneurship.
The conference comprises a series of six parallel sessions, presenting current research and application of practice in the following domains:
Corporate entrepreneurship (e.g. cognition, culture, opportunity, spin-offs and alliances);
Financing (e.g. angel investors, venture capital, and crowd-funding); Internationalisation of micro-enterprises and SMEs;
The entrepreneur (e.g. characteristics, cognition, motivation, and networks);
Female entrepreneurship;
Minority entrepreneurship;
Social entrepreneurship;
Family business;
Governance;
Strategy;
Innovation in business processes.
In Association with
The conference will be hosted by the School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE) and the Irish Network for Teachers and Researchers of Entrepreneurship (INTRE).
“This is the biggest and most prestigious entrepreneurship conference worldwide to focus on all aspects of entrepreneurship and enterprise creation and development,” said Professor Bill O'Gorman (pictured) in WIT.
Professor Andrew Zacharakis, John H. Muller Chair in Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Studies, Babson College, said that he was delighted that the conference is being hosted in Waterford. Babson College is a private business school based in Massachusetts in the US, with a focus on entrepreneurship education.
“Leaders in entrepreneurship research, application, practice and education from all four corners of the world will be present at this conference. Their research is integral to the development of entrepreneurship,” he added.
In addition to the conference, Babson College will hold the 2018 BCERC Doctoral Consortium Program. The Doctoral Consortium gives 25 doctoral students encourages scholars and educators to become leaders in the field of entrepreneurship education.
