EDEN Conference | SBS Swiss Business School

Things To Know First

SBS and SKEMA have partnered to increase the value of the doctorial education in the form of Project and PMO management research seminar and doctorial colloquium which is scheduled for August 19-21 2020. The conference comes under the name of EDEN which is the name given by EISAM (European Institute for Advanced Management Studies. EDEN is from the Book of Genesis and refers to the garden of earthly delights which in this interpretation is the core of learning and knowledge.

This year is the 20^th Anniversary EDEN Doctoral Seminar with the theme ‘Next Generation Project Managers: Mindfulness, Happiness, Spirituality, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Passion?’

The seminar aims are:

To provide a forum for doctoral students in project management and PMO management from Europe and around the world, where they can share experiences in studying and exchanging information on: research and theoretical paradigms appropriate for project/PMO management and on research methodologies appropriate for research in project/PMO management literature on project management to inform their studies
To explore with doctoral students new directions and new approaches for research in the field of project .management.

Eden 2020 Schedule

Wednesday 19 August 2020

9h00 – Introduction, Paul Gardiner
9h30 – Paul Littau, KEYNOTE OPENING SESSION, “Spiritual Intelligence in Leaders of Organizational Change”
10h45 – Carole Daniel, “Project team mindfulness”
11h30 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
11h50 – REST BREAK
12h00 – Valerie Saintot, “Exploring the impact of visual templates to support knowledge sharing in team meetings through the lens of extended, embodied, embedded and enacted cognition”
12h45 – Opportunity moment
13h00 – LUNCH
14h15 – Hedley Smyth, “The Role of Mindfulness in the Management of Projects: potential opportunities and threats in research and practice”
15h00 – Opportunity moment
15h30 – Peter Kaul, “PMO success in dynamic environments”
16h15 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
16h35 – REST BREAK
16h45 – Erik Mannson, “Mindfulness, meditation and spirituality in projects”

Thursday 20 August 2020

9h00 – Shankar Sankaran, “Mindfulness and leadership”
10h05 – REST BREAK
10h15 – Shankar Sankaran and Ralf Muller, “OPM and the viable governance model”
12h00 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
12h30 – Opportunity moment
13h00 – LUNCH
14h00 – Dean Kashiwagi, “Future of PM in the age of automation and information systems”
16h15 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
16h35 – REST BREAK
16h45 – Nathalie Drouin, Ralf Muller, Martina Huemann “Meet the editors”

Friday 21 August 2020

9h00 – Jonas Soderlund, “Project studies, future research, theorizing and debate”
10h05 – REST BREAK
10h15 – Eddie Fisher and Ondrej Zizlavsky, “Measuring the success of innovation projects in an IT agile working environment”
12h30 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
13h00 – LUNCH
14h00 – Robert Joslin, “Perspectives on project methods and the AIPMO body of knowledge”
15h05 – REST BREAK
15h15 – Nathalie Drouin, “Mega project leaders”
16h10 – Themed virtual coffee conversations and networking
16h45 – Frank Anbari, KEYNOTE CLOSING SESSION, “Mindful Integration of Lean Six Sigma and the PMO Through the Office of Strategy Management”
17h50 – Closing remarks, Paul Gardiner
18h00 – END

As we continue to move towards increasing digital transformation across the world of work (the theme from last year’s EDEN seminar), spurred on by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a dawning realization that many of the roles and responsibilities of traditional jobs (project, program, and portfolio manager included) will disappear, subsumed by the continued integration of artificial and augmented intelligence (AAI) that can skyrocket performance efficiencies through, for example, the use of advanced cyber-physical systems. Where does this leave the next generation of project managers? What will the post COVID-19 and post AAI role of the project manager need to embody if it is to stay relevant and valued by the organizations of tomorrow? EDEN2020 looks to some possible dimensions that will differentiate next-generation project managers: mindfulness, happiness, spirituality, intelligence, wisdom, and passion. The seminar sessions will include more general research topics on contemporary topics as well as on the special theme for this year.

As in previous years, doctoral students will be given an opportunity to share their own research topics. The doctoral mentoring workshop is on Monday and Tuesday. This is an opportunity for invited students to defend their research proposal, practice their thesis defense, and, for two students this year, defend their final thesis in front of a jury and audience. On Tuesday, there is a workshop on academic writing for doctoral students.

All SBS students and faculty may attend for free

Dates of Conference: 19 – 21 August 2020

To register please go to the link below