8th BMDA Annual Conference

The Conference is going to bring together International business education community and representatives of various Business organisations from the Baltic Sea region and beyond.

8th Annual BMDA Conference “Flying Through Turbulence – Transformation For The Future” took place in Reval Hotel Latvia, on May 13th- 14th, in Riga, Latvia.

The Conference attracted diverse international group of participants from 16 countries: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, France, Georgia, Republic of Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom, Ukraine and USA.

Pre-Conference workshop speakers Ms. Karine Oganisjana, University of Latvia and Dr. Martyn Lawrence, Emerald Group Publishing, shared their views and innovative approaches on creativity in research.

Conference Keynote speaker Former President of Latvia Dr. Vaira Vike-Freiberga presented the extensive analyses of current political, economic  and social situation in Europe and Baltic states, followed by the ideas concerning the role and responsibilities of Management development institutions in the region.

Mr. Mindaugas Glodas, CEO of Microsoft Baltic, described the current economical situation from the business perspective, analysed causes for such situation and possible ways to get out of it.

Prof. Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien, provided in-depth overview on the motivation of people in general and particular aspects of it during these turbulent times. He presented various analytical models in order to understand motivation of employees better.

During the interactive session „World Cafe, moderated by Ervins Butkevics, Latvian Christian Academy, the participants were involved into extensive discussions on ability to learn from other‘s mistakes and what does it mean to be successful.

One of the most innovative parts of the conference – Group visits to the companies were also very much appreciated by all the participants. Air Baltic, Latvian National Opera, Riga International Airport, Stenders and Wess Motors companies invited groups of participants to discuss and share their experience on such topics as: Winning Global recognition during the time of tough competition, How to manage the Stars, Losing the Battle in order to win the War, From a small idea to the global company, Sink or skate during the flood. After coming back from the companies, group leaders presented the outcomes of the visits.

The president of BMDA, Dr. Virginijus Kundrotas presented BMDA activities and plans for the future. He also presented new BMDA IT portal, which will enable business society and academic community to cooperate and interact more effectively and efficiently.

BMDA Conference provided an exceptional opportunity for participants to hear the ideas of prominent international speakers, to take part in interactive sessions, discussions and networking activities, which led to the beginning of new cooperation or development of the existing ties.

Extremely positive feedback of Conference participants and speakers encourages BMDA to take further steps in creating and implementing new ideas and sharing them with the participants during other BMDA events.