Hvad har vi lært? Kommentar til rektorernes debat om fremtidens humaniora.

Det første arrangement i forbindelse med Suitable for Business er nu afholdt, og efterfølgende må de deltagende studerende stå tilbage med en følelse af tryghed – men også en undren, over helt klare kerneområder, hvor de tre rektorer ikke formåede at konkretisere, hvordan vi egentlig sikrer aftag af humanistiske kandidater.

Af prodekan Hanne Løngreen

For nogle år siden sad jeg en aften med en række erhvervsledere efter et fagligt arrangement. Diskussionen drejede sig i retning af, hvorvidt man på virksomhedens bundlinie kunne aflæse, at der var ansat humanister? Var det muligt at se en forskel? Kunne man helt konkret pege på hvad bidraget fra det humanistiske perspektiv var?

”Suitable for Business” er et opråb fra kommende kandidater om, at de er velegnede til forretning.  Vi er mange, der deltager i denne diskussion om anvendelse af human- og socialvidenskaberne, og dialogen kommer desværre oftest til at handle om, hvorfor og ikke hvordan videnskaberne skaber værdi.

Last week, Suitable for Business chairman Kenneth Salomonsen and boardmember Olav Hesseldahl visited "Fagkritisk Dag" (Subject Critical Day) at the University of Bergen to discuss our organisation and its role in relation to out-of-the-box thinking vis-a-vis the business world.  

As the event of the year draws closer and the details of the conference are being finalised, we are happy to reveal more information about the case competition. While the case itself will remain our best-hidden secret until Wednesday the 21st March we are now at liberty to disclose some information relating to this year’s case participants.

Humanister udvikler Dansk Røde Kors Med det ene ben plantet i organisationens historiske dybder, og det andet ben på vej ind i det 21. århundrede, er Dansk Røde Kors en gammel dame, der står overfor en række udfordringer og nye muligheder. Sådan omtaler Anders Ladekarl den organisation som han siden 2008 har været Generalsekretær for.

Vi har forskelligeartede bidrag til Suitable for Business´ konferenceprogram. For overblikkets skyld præsenteres her første del af vores speakers´ abstracts. God læsning - og gå ikke glip af den orale version!

The board are very thrilled to announce that a the next Steering Committee for Suitable for Business has been appointed. Upon this first years activities and experiences, especially concerning the conference and case competition in the spring, it has been very important for us to pass the responsibility on to a highly motivated and skilled team.

Hvordan promoverer man humanistisk og socialvidenskabelig viden? Hvordan sikrer man en højere grad af videndeling, såvel som vidensanvendelse med afsæt i universiteterne i hvad vi kalder det moderne videnssamfund? Og endelig, hvordan opkvalificerer vi en ungdom til intelligent at kunne tage vare på fremtidens forretnings- og samfundsliv?

Earlier today a team consisting of four anthropologists from Copenhagen University was announced as the winner of this year's Suitable for Business Case Conference. Their vision of an 'Urban Oasis' won over the majority of the judges as well as the audience and the four ladies took home both of the prizes available; four thousand kroner for the former and a goodie bag for the latter. The team, which consisted of Anne Bech, Lene Wie Krog, Sofie Nielsen and Stine Ilum were clearly overwhelmed upon being named the winners; as they put it, "we have hereby shown that anthropology is not just about a small island in the Pacific or a distant tribe in Africa." 

Many different solutions were presented and many creative ideas expressed. We at Suitable for Business were amazed at the inspiration and inventiveness presented and proud that you chose our case competition as the platform from which to excel! We would like to thank all the participants as well as the judges for an inspiring event which proves how Suitable the humanities and social sciences truly are!

To view more pictures from today, check out our Facebook page.

As this year’s case competition draws nearer, the final details are being settled. While we have already had the pleasure of announcing this year’s case participants we can now share the names of some of those who have kindly agreed to pass judgement over this year’s solutions. In no particular order, we are very proud to welcome 

Case competition participants

With less than one week left before we kick off this year's Suitable for Business event we now have the pleasure of revealing the names of those selected to compete in this year’s case competition. While the subject of the competition will not be revealed for another seven days, we are happy to share a little something about the contestants.We have selected a total of ten teams representing different fields of study. 

Throughout the conference we will explore the concept of value creation through the lens of the humanities and social sciences and the role of these kind of skills in modern business life. But how can the lessons from these discussions get YOU closer to a concrete idea of what it means to apply your academic skills in the real world? March 21st 10.30-12.00 Suitable for Business 2012 brings you two inspirational stories on how you move from the ivory tower of abstract academia to new ways of thinking business.

Registrations for the two main conference keynote speakers, Henry Etzkowitz and Francesco Avvisati are opening today at 12AM!

All events are FREE and seats are limited, so make sure you secure a seat by registering at either of the two links below:

Sign up for the keynote speak featuring Henry Etzkowitz on March 20th 2012

Sign up for the keynote speak featuring Francesco Avvisati on March 21st 2012

Suitable for Business is proud to reveal the name of the second keynote speaker of this year’s conference: Francesco Avvisati from the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. He will be speaking on the 21st March.

Earlier today a team consisting of four anthropologists from Copenhagen University was announced as the winner of this year's Suitable for Business Case Conference. Their vision of an 'Urban Oasis' won over the majority of the judges as well as the audience and the four ladies took home both of the prizes available; four thousand kroner for the former and a goodie bag for the latter. The team, which consisted of Anne Bech, Lene Wie Krog, Sofie Nielsen and Stine Ilum were clearly overwhelmed upon being named the winners; as they put it, "we have hereby shown that anthropology is not just about a small island in the Pacific or a distant tribe in Africa." 

Many different solutions were presented and many creative ideas expressed. We at Suitable for Business were amazed at the inspiration and inventiveness presented and proud that you chose our case competition as the platform from which to excel! We would like to thank all the participants as well as the judges for an inspiring event which proves how Suitable the humanities and social sciences truly are!

To view more pictures from today, check out our Facebook page.

As this year’s case competition draws nearer, the final details are being settled. While we have already had the pleasure of announcing this year’s case participants we can now share the names of some of those who have kindly agreed to pass judgement over this year’s solutions. In no particular order, we are very proud to welcome 

Case competition participants

With less than one week left before we kick off this year's Suitable for Business event we now have the pleasure of revealing the names of those selected to compete in this year’s case competition. While the subject of the competition will not be revealed for another seven days, we are happy to share a little something about the contestants.We have selected a total of ten teams representing different fields of study. 

Throughout the conference we will explore the concept of value creation through the lens of the humanities and social sciences and the role of these kind of skills in modern business life. But how can the lessons from these discussions get YOU closer to a concrete idea of what it means to apply your academic skills in the real world? March 21st 10.30-12.00 Suitable for Business 2012 brings you two inspirational stories on how you move from the ivory tower of abstract academia to new ways of thinking business.

Registrations for the two main conference keynote speakers, Henry Etzkowitz and Francesco Avvisati are opening today at 12AM!

All events are FREE and seats are limited, so make sure you secure a seat by registering at either of the two links below:

Sign up for the keynote speak featuring Henry Etzkowitz on March 20th 2012

Sign up for the keynote speak featuring Francesco Avvisati on March 21st 2012

Suitable for Business is proud to reveal the name of the second keynote speaker of this year’s conference: Francesco Avvisati from the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. He will be speaking on the 21st March.

As with all competitive engagements someone must come out on top. The Suitable for Business case competition is no different. In one week this year's case will be revealed and ten teams will set out to solve it in less than two days. This is not a lot of time and it will require dedication on behalf of the participants. They must be focused and creative in order to produce innovative ideas that will impress the jury.