Back from the 22๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ at IMD in Lausanne ๐จ๐ญ, I am still processing what has been two days just bursting with knowledge, yet immensely engaging and intellectually energizing ๐กโจ
I had the opportunity to present my PhD project, '๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ', which I am collaborating on with Arjan van Dorsselaer and Prof. Dr. habil. Christiana Weber, and it was genuinely so rewarding to be able to engage with such a thoughtful audience of junior as well as senior Social Entrepreneurship scholars. The discussion around our paper did exactly what I had hoped for in this kind of setting: not only did these amazing Researchers propel our project further through their feedback, but by constructively challenging some of our ideas, they opened up new directions for us to think about ๐๐ง
Across the other parallel paper sessions, there was a striking breadth of work, ranging from thought-provoking theoretical advances to deeply insightful empirical studies, and a shared sense that the field is continuing to expand in both ambition and methodological diversity. I constantly found myself wishing I could be in multiple rooms at once, and I was hardly the only one ๐
The keynotes and closing panel added another layer of reflection, and I learned that academia may just involve as much Deep Focus as it does juggling hats. Equally memorable were the informal moments; between amazing swiss cuisine and a beautiful backdrop, I cannot say how much I enjoyed the conversations with the various colorful members of this community which I feel has welcomed me so warmly! ๐
What stood out most, though, was the accessibility and openness of many of the senior scholars in the field. Despite their accomplishments, they were incredibly generous with their time and Attention and engaged conversations with me with genuine curiousity, which I am deeply grateful for ๐ฑ
I am really happy to have gotten this invaluable chance to further our work and to engage with this amazing community, all enabled by the amazing Sophie Bacq, Jill Kickul, Georgios Polychronopoulos, Faith Chilombo Avolio, creating such an amazing space for a field that continues to grow through both rigorous debate and meaningful collaboration ๐ค
Elisa Alt, Ingrid Eelde Koivisto, Daniel Aguilar Viรฑas, Shreya Paudel, Niels Bosma, Andreana 'Addy' Drencheva, Anuj Tater, Seema Mumtaz, Yang Mei, Yanto Chandra, Shaun Joseph, Dr Libby Ward-Christie, Rossella Rocchino, Addisu Lashitew, Inรจs Blal, Stefano Romito, Frank-Martin Belz, Chris Sutter, Anne-Karen Hueske, Nitin Akhade ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ...
#SEConference2026 #IMD #SocialEntrepreneurship #Impact #SESAW #fsQCA #Lausanne
