Smith School and Global Business School Network to Host Annual International Conference

June 2010 Event Explores How B-Schools Can Lead Through Innovation

College Park, Md. – January 26, 2010 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the Global Business School Network (GBSN) will co-host the fifth annual Global Business School Network conference, to be held June 10-11, 2010, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. The conference provides an opportunity for business school leaders from around the world to connect with stakeholders from government, nonprofit and private-sector organizations to exchange ideas, share global expertise and develop partnerships.

This year’s conference is themed “Innovation for Impact: Business Schools at the Crossroads of Development” and will focus on the innovative and entrepreneurial ways business schools are collaborating with academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the public and private sector to improve management and business education in emerging markets.

"Our annual conference is an excellent opportunity to build bridges between business schools and their stakeholders from around the world,” says Guy Pfeffermann, CEO of the Global Business School Network. “This year we will be particularly interested in looking at the increased role business schools are playing in national development. By providing business savvy and management know-how to innovators and entrepreneurs, business schools are propelling new technologies to market, creating new job opportunities, and supporting inclusive economic growth in emerging markets.”

The Global Business School Network facilitates knowledge-sharing among more than 30 member schools and partners to help build programs at business schools in emerging markets. The goal is to establish strong management education to provide a solid pool of business leaders to local, regional and multinational organizations in those markets. As a network member, the Smith School was a natural partner for the organization’s Washington, D.C. conference.

“We are thrilled to be co-hosting this global conference,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “As business educators, it is so important that we work together to help our peer institutions in emerging markets to develop programs that cultivate strong leaders who understand how to innovate and use business to impact the greater good -- ideals we are working to instill in our students here at the Smith School and hope all business leaders embrace.”

The Smith School was accepted to the network in August 2009 for its commitment to educating men and women to become agents of positive change in the world by exposing them to new business practices, different cultures and new ways of thinking. Smith students have the opportunity to travel throughout the world to learn about business through coursework and study trips. The Smith School has a history as a leader in entrepreneurship education, with the 23-year-old Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship being one of the first such centers in the nation. In September 2009, the Smith School launched the Center for Social Value Creation to support faculty research and provide students with hands-on learning opportunities to apply business principles to global social and environmental challenges. The Smith School also is home to the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), one of 31 such centers at business schools funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant.

The 2009 Global Business School Network conference was held at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (South Africa) with more than 90 representatives of business schools, foundations, civil society, government and companies representing 23 different countries across 5 continents attending. Past conferences were co-hosted by the United States International University (Kenya), INSEAD (France), and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (US).

Additional information for the 2010 conference, including registration and hotel information, is available online at www.gbsnonline.org.