Controversial debates at research conference

DRUID: A prestigious conference rooted at CBS

The annual DRUID conference, which is known for its controversial debates, has just been held at CBS. Researchers with opposing views meet to discuss fundamental and controversial topics within innovation economics. The participants vote for or against the topic before the debate is initiated.

- The poll is then repeated after the debate. It is not unusual that a significant part of the votes changes side during the debate, says Professor Peter Maskell, Research Director of DRUID from the Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics.

Raises standards in the research environment

Many researchers come from small environments, but that has been taken into account by the DRUID conference.

- It is very important that DRUID functions as a forum where new standards of quality are set constantly. The huge international publicity is twofold. Young researchers in particular can really benefit from it, but it also shows them what it takes to manifest themselves internationally, says Peter Maskell.

Present your research before it is finished

It is a requirement that all results to be presented at the conference have not been published in academic journals.

- Researchers need to benefit from their presentation, which means that their research cannot be so concluded that they will not be able to use input from the conference, says Peter Maskell.

Next year’s conference will not be held at CBS, as the Imperial College London Business School has offered to host the summer conference in 2010.

- Imperial College London is among the five highest-ranked universities in the UK. It is a very good sign that DRUID has become so attractive that some of the world’s best research environments are competing to conduct our activities, Peter Maskell concludes.

DRUID

The Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics is a national network focusing on basic new trends within technical, institutional, and organisational change at the business level, in industrial networks, and the economy as a whole. Every year two conferences are held—a large one at CBS and a smaller one at Aalborg University—that target Danish and International PhD students within the field.

DRUID’s next conference in London on 15-18 June 2010 is entitled ‘Opening Up Innovation: The Industrial Dynamics, Strategy and Geography of Innovation and Learning’.