Past Conferences

Exploring New Challenges in Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Education

Hosted by the BU MET Department of Administrative Sciences, the inaugural Entrepreneurship & Technology Symposium was held December 1–2, bringing together academics, researchers, and experts in innovation to tackle its theme, “Exploring New Challenges in Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Education.” With researchers hailing from more than a dozen countries on hand, and 23 research institutions represented, the global nature of the entrepreneurial space was in full view, as sessions focused on entrepreneurial development, entrepreneurial finance, innovation and technology, artificial intelligence and data analytics, entrepreneurial education, and globalization and marketing.

In her welcoming introduction to the proceedings, Administrative Sciences Chair Irena Vodenska said, “Innovation is like planting a seed–out of which we hope surprising beauty will come. Innovation is a driver of progress and an exciting journey of creating value out of thin air. Without innovation, there could not be entrepreneurship.” The rousing inaugural keynote address was given by distinguished Metropolitan College alum and vice chair of the Boston University Board of Trustees Cynthia Cohen. Cohen drove home how essential university-level research is to the ecosystem of business and innovation. As innovation hubs like blockchain and artificial intelligence rise in prominence, she explained, the viability of these enterprises is entirely predicated on the accuracy of the data that backs them. That is where the kinds of research presented at the symposium, with its theme, “Exploring New Challenges in Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Education,” come in. “The data you analyze, they need,” she said. In closing remarks, Associate Chair Marcus Goncalves added, “Let innovation be our guide and collaboration our compass. May the seeds of yesterday’s and today’s ideas blossom into tomorrow’s successes.”

After 38 fascinating presentations, one thing was made plain—the first year of the Entrepreneurship & Technology Symposium would not be the last.