ESU 2021 Conference and Doctoral program on Entrepreneurship

The University of Groningen Centre of Entrepreneurship is very honored to host ESU 2021 Conference and Doctoral Program from 29 August to 4 September 2021!

ESU Concept

The aim of ESU is to strengthen European research traditions and networks in entrepreneurship by focusing on both scholarly sessions as well as on the culture and heritage the hosting country and region has to offer. ESU also provides a friendly setting for junior scholars to interact and build ties within the research community, and to learn important skills for their future careers. Supervisors, researchers and PhD students from international institutions, active in entrepreneurship research and education, come together to share experiences and create new international networks, in a friendly environment.

ESU Doctoral Program is organized in the following format: Plenary sessions on specific topics with keynote speakers who will inspire you and invite critical reflection on a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship: interesting topics, innovative methodologies, publication process, among other. Group discussions and presentations where you will have the opportunity to present your work, discuss the work from peers and receive feedback from experienced scholars. There will be three groups for the doctoral program:

• Early stage group: Students in this group have not started their PhD studies or are in their first year. They present their research proposals.

• Work in progress group: Students in this group are in the middle of their PhD studies and will present their early phase research.

• Mature group: Students in this group have completed their PhD research and will present their results papers.

Participating in the ESU Doctoral Program and all its tasks grants you up to 6 ECTS. Please consult the detailed overview of tasks on the ESU website: http://www.esu-network.eu/esuconferences/ In addition to the Doctoral Program, the ESU Conference offers regular conference tracks open to all attendees. All the presentations will take place on Conference Day, Wednesday September 1. In particular, we invite submissions from:

• Postdocs: they hold a postdoctoral position. They are invited to present their own paper and perform as a discussant in conference sessions. They may also be invited to act as junior coaches for PhD students, and they have some dedicated group presentations.

• Professors: they hold an academic position (permanent or on tenure track). They are invited to present their own paper in conference sessions. They may be invited as senior coaches for PhD students in the group sessions and act, in some cases, as keynote in plenary sessions.

ESU 2021 Venue and format

Due to the uncertain circumstances created by the pandemic, the format of ESU 2021 is being defined following closely the information released daily about the pandemic. Currently, we are exploring the possibility of organizing the conference in a hybrid format: a limited number of participants who are willing and are allowed to be present in Groningen, The Netherlands, will attend ESU in person on site; the participants who are not willing or are not allowed to travel to Groningen but would still like to participate in ESU 2021 will follow the program online. Both the registration fees, as well as the ECTs granted by the participation in the Doctoral program will be adapted to the participation on site format and for the online format. After submitting your abstract to ESU, you will be invited to answer a short survey where we ask information that will help us define the format of ESU 2021. We will use this information to take further decisions on the format, in addition to all the local regulations at the time of the conference.

The University of Groningen Center of Entrepreneurship is located in Groningen, a vibrant city in the north of the Netherlands. For participants attending in person, there will be opportunity to visit the city and get acquainted with its cultural heritage, its perfect balance between history richness and the current innovation atmosphere in the sectors of energy and health. The Center of Entrepreneurship is also equipped with cutting edge technology to host online events or hybrid events, with a Global Classroom. Note: our plan to organize ESU in a hybrid format is optimistic. Should the pandemic situation not allow it, we will run the event fully online. Please keep your traveling plans flexible as well.

Important dates

Abstract Submission

For both Doctoral Program and Conference: max. 500 words abstracts, single spaced, Times New Roman 12pt, capitalized first letters in title, no more than ten words in title, no reference list. Since all abstracts are reviewed using a double-blind review process, it is compulsory that neither names nor contact details appear on the text (besides in the appropriate fields of the template). A template of the abstract is available at ESU website, and we ask you to use it for your submission. Please send your abstract by email to: entrepreneurship@rug.nl

Publication opportunities

There are several publication opportunities for ESU Network members and ESU 2021 participants.

• Electronic Conference Proceedings: unless publication is explicitly waived by the author(s) at the time of the paper’s submission, all accepted submissions will be published in the Electronic Conference Proceedings with ISBN number.
• Book series: This year you are invited to prepare your abstract for ESU aiming at publishing it as a book chapter in the ESU Book Series European Research in Entrepreneurship, published by Edward Elgar. Prospective authors will receive preliminary feedback from the editors at ESU 2021 to help craft their manuscripts towards publication. The chapters will afterwards undergo a review process. Stay tuned for more information about this publication opportunity over the coming weeks!
• Journal Special Issue: ESU collaborates with the Journal of Enterprising Communities (Emerald). This year you are invited to prepare your work aiming at publishing it on the journal’s special issue on this journal. Prospective authors will receive preliminary feedback from the guest editors at ESU 2021 to help craft their manuscripts towards publication. The submitted papers will afterwards undergo a reviews process and follow regular editorial process in the journal. Stay tuned for more information about this publication opportunity over the coming weeks!

When submitting your abstract, you will be asked to indicate if your work is a prospective submission to one of these publication opportunities (book or special issue).

Collaboration with ECSB

ESU 2021 has the support of the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB). Every year, ESU hands out a best paper award per Doctoral program group. The winners of the best paper award (the first author of each paper) receive a one-year PhD membership at ECSB, which grants access to the network and to the different initiatives organized throughout the year such as webinars, paper development workshops, and access to information about the network’s main conferences.

Registration

• Physical attendance early bird fee – before July 15th: €500
• Physical attendance early bird fee – Doctoral students: €450
• Physical attendance late registration: €550

The fee for attendance on site includes participation in the conference and doctoral program (6 ECTS program), meals during the conference and several dinners.

• Online attendance early bird fee – before July 15th: €200
• Online attendance early bird fee – Doctoral students: €150

The fee for online attendance includes participation in the conference and doctoral program (4 ECTS program), access to all conference materials online.

Refunds and cancelations: Cancelations and refunds will need to be requested no later than 31 July 2021. After that date no refunds will be issued.

Local organizing committee

• Prof. Aard Groen
• Dr. Sílvia Costa
• Dr. Inna Kozlinska
• Dr. Olga Belousova
• Aniek Ouendag, MSc

If you have any questions please contact us at entrepreneurship@rug.nl with the subject “ESU 2021”. We look forward to receiving your submissions!