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.
Pumpehuset: the Suitable for Business Case 2012
Written by Group Admin
We are proud to reveal Pumpehuset as this year’s case! Pumpehuset is widely known as a concert venue in downtown Copenhagen. The creative duo Ronnie Hansen (current CEO) and Kristoffer Bramsen own the house together with the big media company Nordisk Film. The venue focuses mainly on subcultures, but it needs to expand its business and get new ideas from the ambitious and innovative case participants.
Today, Suitable for Business had the pleasure of presenting two women who have used their background in the humanities to pursue interests outside thereof.
First off, we were introduced to Mie Bjerre, partner at Copenhagen Living Lab, which assists public and private organisations in realising innovation and business potential. Mie has a background in European ethnology, realising while traveling that “understanding cultures, people and understanding why people are doing what they’re doing was interesting to me.” After completing her bachelor degree and studying in Amsterdam for some time, Mie felt she needed at practical aspect to weigh against her theoretical knowledge; this she got through an internship at Rambøll Management Consulting.
“Who Will Be Suitable For Business?” - 2nd Keynote Speech by Francesco Avvisati
Written by Group Admin
The second day of the Suitable for Business conference 2012 was opened by an informative presentation by Francesco Avvisati of the OECD entitled “Who Will Be Suitable For Business?”. Through his work as an analyst at CERI, Centre for Educational Research and Development at the OECD, he is part of the pioneering research group, looking into emerging trends and how universities should act consequently.
Innovation has been identified a the special ingredient which makes individuals successful and allows them to create value for the future. The unifying principle of the innovation strategy as applied by the OECD is the empowering of people to innovate. The two trends identified in the labour market are globalisation and technology.
Last night, Suitable for Business invited the case participants to spend an evening in the company of Future Navigator. The people of Future Navigator concentrate their efforts on bringing out the best in people and helping them visualise their better tomorrow through Future Based Ideas Development. The goal is to empower people in their ability and foundation to create new meaningful concepts and services. In other words, using the future as a springboard for success – today.
We were joined by Henrik Good Hovgaard who gave us a presentation on realising one’s passion: “people don’t buy what you do but why you do it.”
How Useful is a University Education? Panel Debate
Written by Group Admin
Following the keynote speech by Henry Etzkowitz, the audience was invited to partake in a panel debate on how the social sciences and humanities can create value in future business life, more specifically, what is required of said students to be able to enter the professional business world.
The panel consisted of Sverre Raffnsøe, Dr. Phil and Professor at CBS, Sara Gade Hansen, chief consultant at the Confederation of Danish Industries, Morten Løkkegaard, CEO of Humanostics, and Ingrid Stage, President of the Danish Association of Masters and Ph.D.s. Acting as a moderator for the debate was Alan Irwin, Dean of Research at CBS.
Pumpehuset: the Suitable for Business Case 2012
Written by Group Admin
We are proud to reveal Pumpehuset as this year’s case! Pumpehuset is widely known as a concert venue in downtown Copenhagen. The creative duo Ronnie Hansen (current CEO) and Kristoffer Bramsen own the house together with the big media company Nordisk Film. The venue focuses mainly on subcultures, but it needs to expand its business and get new ideas from the ambitious and innovative case participants.
Suitable for Business is officially open for business! The conference has been kicked off with an educational keynote speech by Henry Etzkowitz on the Entrepreneurial University and the Triple Helix, a concept spanning the interaction of three spheres, namely those of university, government, and industry. Mr. Etzkowitz emphasised the need for interdisciplinarity, highlighting several examples of successful inventions rooted in collaborations across disciplines.
Suitable for Business has opened the doors to this year’s conference and case competition. Before we kick off the conference we have gathered the ten teams (or representatives thereof) in order for them to become acquainted with Suitable for Business and each other.
For the first round of the finals of Friday, the ten teams will be split into two streams, stream X and stream Y. Two teams will be selected from each stream to compete in the finals. Today, the case committee has revealed which teams will compete against which.
On Wednesday, Suitable for Business hosted this year’s pre-event, a so-called Innovation Battle held at Pumpehuset in central Copenhagen. The point of the evening was to explore the concept of innovation; what is innovation? How do we create innovation? How can innovation create value for society as a whole? Can we combine education and innovation? How can students become more innovative?
On the first day of this year’s conference we are very excited to be presenting a panel debate on how the social sciences and humanities can create value in future business life. Suitable for Business truly believes that people from such fields of study as the humanities and the social sciences have lots to offer in terms of skills and engagement.
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 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
Umiddelbart efter Thea Mikkelsens oplæg om hvordan kreativitet bruges i hendes arvejdsliv var hun så venlig at stille op til et kort interview med Suitable for Business.
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.
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.
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
We are eager to kick off Suitable for Business 2012, the 20th-23rd March. Check this video and see what Suitable for Business is all about in 35secs. The video also includes a sneak preview of the Program 2012.
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.
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.
WHAT is innovation? HOW do we create innovation? Join our battle at Pumpehuset on Wednesday the 14th of March from 17-19.
Conference days: Ovnhallen, Porcelænshaven, Copenhagen Business School
Written by Group AdminThe conference days 20-21 March will take place at the beautiful Ovnhal, at Pocelænshaven. Suitable for Business appreciate the support from Copenhagen Business School, and believes that this location facilities will be a perfect space when business and humanities meets.
Suitable for Business will in collaboration with Future Navigator host an exclusive evening event the 20 March. It is our vision that this will scale the case participants experience from the conference and case days. On tuesday evening there will be a workshop with Henrik Hovgaard from Future Navigator, about employability and career-focused self-creation.
Henry Etzkowitz - Keynote speaker at Suitable for Business 2012!
Written by Group Admin
Suitable for Business is proud to reveal the name of our first keynote speaker: Professor Henry Etzkowitz from Stanford University.
Danske virksomheder skal udvikle og forny sig konstant for at klare sig i konkurrencen mod de hurtigt voksende udviklingslande. På det punkt kan humanister bidrage i erhvervslivet. Det sagde direktør i DI Lars Goldschmidt onsdag formiddag på konferencen Suitable for Business.
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.
Kære Læser,
Suitable for Business´ ambition er at belyse hvordan human- og socialvidenskabelige studerende og kandidater kan bidrage til samfundet, herunder erhvervslivet. Det sker på to måder; via en case-competition hvor 50 studerende fra hele Norden skal vise hvad vi dur til, samt konferencen, der på forskelligvis diskuterer emnets udstrækninger.
Af Troels Bjørn Thorn
Hvilken værdi skaber humanister i erhvervslivet? Dette væsentlige og uafklarede spørgsmål tager konferencen, Suitable for Business, op. Initiativtagerne erklærer: “[…] we want to challenge and develop the modern business world in order to prepare it for a future within the knowledge economy.”
Innovationens magiske treenighed - San Francisco! krimi, beat og avantgarde
Written by Group AdminAf Maibrit Dessau Borkfelt Mogensen, Founder of HumEnzym
Da Jaque Kerouac rejste fra New York til San Francisco i slutningen af 1940’erne, var det begyndelsen på en ny kultur, der skulle ende med at overtage verden. I de efterfølgende år fulgte kunstnere, homoseksuelle, forskellige etniciteter og til sidst den nye teknologis avantgardekunstnere – computernørderne. I 70’erne gik denne skæve blanding af mennesker på de samme colleges i San Francisco området. Her diskuterede de med hinanden og skabte det skønne sammensurium af kreativitet, historiefortælling og nyskabende teknologi, der lagde fundamentet for dét globale samfund, vi har i dag. Det var her internettet og princippet om open source software blev skabt.
Af Torben Eik, Yourwaves
Som iværksætter med baggrund i et humanistisk studie bliver jeg ofte spurgt, hvordan mine akademiske evner kommer i spil i min profession og min hverdag – og om de overhovedet gør? Svaret fra mig er ubetinget ”Ja!”
I 2009 registrerede jeg virksomheden YourWaves I/S i det centrale momsregister. Vi var to partnere begge med en humanistisk baggrund. Vi tog skridtet uden meget viden og erfaring på området, men med hjertet fuld af selvtillid og en tyrkertro på at vores viden og kompetencer kunne blive vores levebrød. Siden har vi lært meget om business og iværksætteri – vi er blevet klogere på markedsanalyse, salg, økonomi, regnskab, markedsføring og PR, men kernen i projektet er stadig vores humanistiske tilgang til branchen og vores akademiske kompetencer.
(Be)grebet om en model - Filosofi og erhvervsøkonomi i en udenommoralsk betydning
Written by Group AdminAf Esben Hegnsholt
Jeg er blevet bedt om at skrive ettusinde ord om hvordan jeg bruger filosofi på mit job. Det er ikke nemt. Til dels fordi jeg arbejder som strategikonsulent og derfor ikke (endnu) har hevet Sein und Zeit frem til et klientmøde, men hovedsageligt fordi spørgsmålet er stillet forkert. Jeg bruger ikke nemlig ikke Filosofien: den murstenstunge serie af kongstanker, rækken af lærredsindbundne og svært tilgængelige genialiteter som tynger bogreolen derhjemme. Men jeg bruger min filosofiske dannelse. Hver dag. På hvert projekt. Fordi den sætter mig i stand til at strukturere tanken og håndtere abstraktion.
Katalyst - afdelingen for humanistisk innovation - Fra hvorfor til hvordan
Written by Group Admin”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.
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?
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!
Steve Fuller: Økonomisk angst og co-curriculum
Written by Group AdminEt oplæg om den neo-liberalistiske verdensordens betydning for humanisters jobmuligheder, om hvordan universiteterne har fejlet, og bøgernes deroute.
Steve Fuller udtrykte som det første i sit oplæg dyb respekt for Suitable for Business-konceptet, da en studenter-fraktion af den art ikke ses i Storbritannien hvor han selv holder til. I en verden af helte og skurke, introducerede Fuller overraskende nok med at akademia ikke var helten.
Paneldebat: Forsking eller faktura – Universiteternes rolle i Samfundet
Written by Group AdminHermed et sammendrag af tirsdagens Paneldebat.
Dommerpanel Suitable for Business´ Case-Competition
Written by Group AdminSuitable for Business er stolte af at kunne præsentere vores dommerpanel. Dommerpanelet skal fredag vurdere gruppernes oplæg og præsentationer. Tanken bag dommerpanelet er, at det skal repræsentere forskellige brancher fra den danske erhvervsliv nemlig: Industrien, konsulent og rådgivningssektoren, event og oplevelsesindustrien og så selvfølgelig vores casevirksomhed Dansk Røde Kors. Fredag eftermiddag kl. 13 er der finale, hvor dommerne udfordrer finalegrupperne med Q&A.
Tirsdagens aftenarrangement, "I samtale med Genier", var på alle måder en succes. Arrangementet, hvor Carla Cammilla Hjort fra ArtRebels, Kristoffer Rom som er trommeslager i Oh No Ono og ejer af pladeselskabet Tambourhinoceros, og Tobias Jacobsen som er industriel designer havde en samtale om kreativitet og hvor det kommer fra, ledet af Vincent Hendricks og med 10-minutters rants fra Steen Nepper Larsen som gav alle tilhørere - og deltagere i debatten - en opsang. Om et par uger kommer der en længere videoreportage fra arrangementet - men for at stille den hurtige sult følger her en hurtig Voxpop lavet umiddelbart som mødet sluttede.
Humaniora-Studerende har løst Røde Kors’ problemer (only in Danish)
Written by Group Admin
Efter en intens finale i den første årlige Suitable for Business Conference & Case Competition, hvor hold fra Lund, Roskilde og Københavns Universitet præsenterede deres bud på hvordan Røde Kors kunne løse deres organisationsudfordringer, besluttede dommerpanelet at holdet fra Lund gav det bedste bud på hvordan Røde Kors kan løse deres organisationsudfordringer.
Keynote-speech 2011, proffessor Steve Fuller.
Studerende deler og anvender human og socialvidenskabelig viden med succes
Written by Group AdminHvordan 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?
Suitable for Business recruiting new steering committee
Written by Group Admin
Suitable for Business 2011 was a great success. However, the fun will not stop here, and we are now recruiting a steering committee to lead the work towards the 2012 conference and case competition. Click HERE to read the posting. (Note: In Danish)
New Steering Committee appointed for Suitable for Business
Written by Group Admin
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.
The newly assigned Steering Committee calls for applications for the organising committees that will be a part of an moving and prominent student-driven organisation. Please take a look at this opportunity and send us your applications no later than
12:00 Friday 16 September, 2011
Follow this link to read the posting.
Best Regards, Anne Cathrine Garde and Bjørg Ilsø Klinkby Steering Committee Suitable for Business 2012
Do you want to know how to employ your humanitarian and social science proficiencies in the modern business world? Then Suitable for Business might be your runway!
Do you want to know how to employ your humanitarian and social science proficiencies in the modern business world? Then Suitable for Business might be your runway! Following last year’s successful launch, Suitable for Business proudly presents
… the 2nd interactive academic conference and business case competition
… to be held the 20-23rd of March 2012
… with ‘Value Creation’ as this year’s theme
… bringing together 12 teams of Scandinavia’s brightest students to compete in solving a real-world business case