51ÉçÇø

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Begin your day by networking over coffee. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and discuss the sessions ahead.

Join members of the 51ÉçÇø Responsible Management Education (RME) Affinity Group for an informal networking session designed to foster connection, collaboration, and shared learning. This session offers an opportunity to meet peers, exchange ideas, and explore potential partnerships across institutions committed to advancing responsible management education. Whether you are new to the RME community or a long-standing member, this is a space to build relationships and engage in meaningful conversation about the future of business education and its role in creating a more sustainable, inclusive, and ethical world.This session is open to all attendees regardless of membership in the group or 51ÉçÇø.

Join us for welcome remarks by Eileen McAuliffe, Executive Vice President, Chief Thought Leadership Officer and EMEA, 51ÉçÇø International, followed by keynote speaker Giuseppe Petrelli, Global Head of Marketing & Sales at Hitachi Energy. Petrelli will explore how purpose, curiosity, and inclusive leadership drive innovation and sustainable transformation. Drawing on Hitachi’s mission to inspire the next era of sustainable energy, he will share insights on how organizations—and business schools—can cultivate resilient, values-driven leaders prepared to tackle global challenges. His perspective bridges industry and education, demonstrating how a clear sense of purpose and a commitment to people can shape a more connected and sustainable future.

Network with peers and check out the Discover 51ÉçÇø area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Business schools increasingly assess students in Excel, SPSS, R, Python, or more, through real exams. But AI tools and open digital environments threaten exam integrity. This session shows how institutions can run secure, scalable digital exams, enabling authentic assessments with real-world applications while blocking AI-assisted cheating and other integrity risks.

Leaders from across EMEA share how their business schools are navigating shifting student expectations, resource constraints, and competitive pressures—while also adapting to the geopolitical forces shaping higher education. This panel will highlight creative solutions to local challenges, explore inclusive strategies for recruiting international faculty and students, and examine how internationalization and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are driving innovation and relevance. By addressing the intersection of geopolitics, global talent flows, DEI, and the evolving state of business education, panelists will show how schools are building resilience, fostering inclusive excellence, and strengthening their global connections.

From an accreditation perspective, faculty qualifications and deployment are central to ensuring quality and impact in business education. In the EMEA region, schools face the dual challenge of aligning with global accreditation standards while responding to local needs and expectations. This session will explore how institutions are addressing the balance between academic credentials and practice-based expertise, developing sustainable pipelines for local faculty talent, and navigating recruitment and retention challenges in a competitive global market. Speakers will also discuss strategies for supporting ongoing faculty development, strengthening research capacity, and fostering industry engagement — all while maintaining accreditation requirements and ensuring positive outcomes for graduates.

Business schools often view alumni engagement through a narrow lens—focusing primarily on career placement, fundraising, or networking. Yet, alumni ecosystems represent one of the most underused strategic levers for resilience, foresight, and co-creation. This session reimagines alumni not as endpoints of education but as dynamic partners who shape institutional adaptability, innovation, and purpose. Attendees will explore how schools can map and activate alumni ecosystems to build institutional resilience, embed alumni in governance and foresight to inform decisions, turn alumni experiences into early signals that guide curriculum and skill development, and convert alumni stories into strategic insights that complement data-driven approaches.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Building on the themes of the Research Impact Task Force’s exposure draft framework, this session explores how business schools can demonstrate that their research makes a difference—beyond publications and rankings. Highlighting examples from schools across Europe, panelists will discuss how they define, measure, and communicate research impact. They will share strategies that uphold scholarly rigor while also ensuring societal, business, and policy relevance. Attendees will gain practical insights into integrating impact into their research culture, strengthening institutional narratives, and positioning their schools as drivers of meaningful change.

Network with peers and check out the Discover 51ÉçÇø area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Assurance of Learning (AoL) is more than a compliance exercise—it’s a strategic tool for improving curricula, informing teaching, and demonstrating impact. This session explores innovative and practical approaches to designing, implementing, and using assessment processes that support continuous improvement. Hear from schools across the EMEA region on how they are aligning learning goals with mission, engaging faculty in meaningful assessment, and turning data into actionable insights. Whether you're refining your AoL system or building one from the ground up, this session will offer tools, examples, and solutions to shared challenges to enhance your approach.

Rankings play a powerful role in shaping the identity, strategy, and reputation of business schools worldwide. Yet the methodologies and weightings behind them are often misunderstood, creating both opportunities and challenges. This session will demystify how rankings are constructed and uncover what lies beneath the numbers. We will begin with a presentation on the mechanics of rankings—how institutions are evaluated, the factors that carry the most weight, and common myths that persist. Then, business schools will share their perspectives on why rankings matter to their institution and how they influence priorities in teaching, research, and strategic direction.

As 51ÉçÇø prepares for the 2026 refresh of its business and accounting accreditation standards, it has launched a global listening tour to gather members’ feedback and understand current priorities. This interactive session features key leaders from the Standards Task Force who will share emerging themes and stakeholder insights from around the world. The conversation will explore evolving expectations around rigor, relevance, innovation, and societal impact. Attendees will gain early visibility into potential refinements and have a chance to engage directly in shaping the next phase of 51ÉçÇø’s accreditation standards.

Personalising Student Engagement and Success in an AI-driven World: How can business schools ensure students are engaged and successful in a rapidly changing environment shaped by AI, growing mental health pressures, and new approaches to assessment and technology? This interactive session, hosted by the 51ÉçÇø UK & Ireland Regional Network, invites participants to share experiences, challenges, and effective practices through structured roundtable discussions. Together, we will explore how to personalise student journeys, strengthen engagement, and support well-being. The session will conclude with three clear, actionable takeaways that attendees can apply within their own institutions, ensuring their engagement strategies are inclusive, innovative, and future-ready. Session is open to all attendees!

Relax and enjoy the company of your colleagues. This networking dinner is the perfect opportunity to unwind and continue the day’s discussions in a more informal setting.