30th Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship – PODIM: »Selling Innovative Ideas«

INTRODUCTION
The jubilee 30th PODIM Conference will gather experts from different countries to address numerous development issues, and to search in fruitful discussions among participants the appropriate answers. Main conference topics are always at the cross-section of sharing reach knowledge and experiences of entrepreneurs, managers, innovators and academics. For 30 years, PODIM Conferences on Entrepreneurship and Innovation PODIM have been addressing important issues and contributing to a better understanding of entrepreneurship, innovation, innovative society, and how to unleash the creative potential in individuals, companies, and regions. Last year, more than 300 participants were engaged in a two-day event during which the contributions of 65 authors from 10 countries were discussed regarding the topic of creating winning products. This year, we will discuss a broad array of issues focused on the challenges associated with turning innovative ideas into successful products, services, processes, or new ways of doing business.

ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
Many people have tremendously innovative ideas but only a few of them manage to turn these into successful products, services, processes, or new ways of doing business. In order to implement new ideas and inventions, we must know how to communicate them effectively. The discovery of commercial potential in “product genome” and selling innovative ideas within company – and in the market – are the cornerstones of creating a successful business. The jubilee 30th International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a great place to discuss these important issues.
The key issues to be discussed include:
•Attracting public attention – communicating science, technology, and innovation
•Organizational approaches to activating knowledge and innovation
•Technology transfer and commercialization
•Access to sources of innovation transfer
•Establishing the environment for creating and transferring innovation
•Nurturing champions of innovation and entrepreneurship
•Mechanisms for cooperation between the economic, academic, and governmental spheres
•Innovation bench learning
•Communicating and disseminating innovative ideas
•Corporate venturing
•Challenges of visualizing products and services
•Supporting mechanisms for turning inventions into innovations
•Attracting investors and successful pitching
•Knowledge spillover
•Stimulating ecological innovation
•“Selling” social innovations
•Entrepreneurship and innovation education and training


PARTICIPANTS
At the oldest and most prestigious Slovenian conference on innovation and entrepreneurship we expect some 300 participants. The jubilee 30th PODIM conference will assemble innovation and entrepreneurship researchers, opinion-makers, entrepreneurship and technology transfer advisors, consultants from incubators, technology parks, and development agencies, investors, successful entrepreneurs, development managers from big companies, start-ups, and future entrepreneurs, students, and young researchers.

PROGRAM
The main activities of the 30th PODIM conference are: plenary and parallel symposia and workshops on the main theme of the conference, roundtable discussions, award ceremony for winners of competition Start:up Slovenia, as well as other programs stimulating active networking among the conference participants. The conference will for the third time host the Microsoft Entrepreneurship Forum aimed at young top experts with entrepreneurial ambitions. In cooperation with European Council for Small Business we will enrich the program in the area of entrepreneurship research and policy, and foster networking activities with researchers from Balkan countries.

ORGANIZERS
•IRP Institute for Entrepreneurship Research
•The University of Maribor
•Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments

MAIN PARTNERS
•Ministry of the Economy
•Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor
•European Council for Small Business

SCIENTIFIC BOARD
•Prof. Miroslav Rebernik, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia
•Prof. Matjaž Mulej, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia
•Prof. Aleš Vahčič, Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
•Prof. Slavica Singer, University of Osijek, Croatia
•Prof. Kevin Hindle, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
•Prof. Allan Gibb, Durham, United Kingdom
•Prof. Erich Schwarz, University of Klagenfurt, Austria
•Prof. Antti Paasio, Turku School of Economics, Finland
•Prof. Alan Barrell, University of Cambridge Entrepreneurship Centre, United Kingdom
•Prof. John Allen, Pythia Consulting Limited, United Kingdom
•Prof. Matjaž B. Jurič, Science Park Maribor, Slovenia
•Dr. Thomas Cooney, European Council for Small Business

VENUE
The conference will take place in Hotel Habakuk, which lies on the slopes of Pohorje, a ten-minute drive from the centre of Maribor –the economic, business, cultural and university centre of the region. This five-star hotel has been chosen because of its excellent conference facilities and top-class service.

WEB PAGE: www.podim.org

CALL FOR PAPER
If you are interested in contributing to the PODIM conference, you are invited to submit a one-page abstract. Papers must relate directly to the main theme of the conference and have practical implications for entrepreneurship and innovation development. Selections will be made by a reviewing committee on the basis of the abstract, with a final decision based on the full paper.
All abstracts and papers should be submitted in English. Detailed instructions for formatting the paper together with other information on the conference content and venue will be sent to authors after acceptance of their papers for presentation. Conference proceedings will be published in an ISBN numbered book, and best papers will be considered for publication in peer-reviewed journal Naše gospodarstvo / Our Economy, indexed and abstracted in ABI Inform and EconLit.

IMPORTANT DATES January 25th, 2010 - Submission of abstracts (1 page) and a 1/3 page of the author's C.V. By e-mail. February 1st, 2010 - Acceptance of abstracts; instructions for preparing the final papers. By e-mail. March 8th, 2010 - Submission of final papers covering 12 pages (maximum). By e-mail. March 20th, 2010 - Deadline for the conference fee payment. March 25th, 2010 - Final program and information about the conference. By e-mail. April 14th – 15th, 2010 - Conference dates SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS should be addressed to: barbara.bradac@uni-mb.si (IPMMP, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia). CONFERENCE FEES Participation fee:400 Euro Participation fee for authors: 250 Euro Participation fee for start-ups:100 Euro Participation fee for students:100 Euro VAT not included. Early birds (till March 15th) will be granted a 30% jubilee discount. Online registration and other details are available at www.podim.org