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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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

The 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.