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Conference »Knowledge for growth«

On 11th of November 2008 GEA College of Entrepreneurship organized a conference »Knowledge for growth«.

Fast growing and dynamic companies are the backbone of economic growth and contribute the biggest part to macroeconomic indicators like GDP, new employments and new innovative products. Unfortunately the researches show that fast entrepreneurial growth is often spontaneous and not planned, which results in the fact that most fast growing companies are »walking on the edge« and are not aware of that until it is too late. Therefore, we can see a lot of fluctuation on the “top 500 charts”, since only few companies succeed to maintain the fast development growth. Some of who were yesterday very successful, are facing the bankruptcy today. The basic question, which we wanted to answer at the conference, is: How important seems knowledge to fast growing companies and entrepreneurs in fast growing companies?

The second reason why we decided to organize this conference is that we would like to share our experience in entrepreneurship education with the Slovenian public. As a school we are educating the students (potential entrepreneurs) and entrepreneurs. Our main focus is on management and leadership of fast growing companies and development of individual’s entrepreneurial potential. We encourage our students to be as creative and innovative as they can. We teach them how to manage the complex and competitive business environment, so that they can be one step ahead of their competitors and thus, pursue a successful career in the modern market economies. Our experience is too valuable not to share it with the broader public. 

The programme of the conference:

Hour	Contents
16.00 – 16.05	Opening of the Conference: Andrej Baričič, Managing Director of GEA College
16.05 – 16.35	Michael Hughes: Best practices in Entrepreneurship Education: overview of Scotland, UK, Europe
16.35 – 17.05	Eline Beemsterboer, SenterNovem Agency: Overview of Entrepreneurship Education and the Supporting Environment in Netherlands – best practices
17.05 – 17.35	Laurence Hewick, Hewick Research: Overview of Entrepreneurship Education and the Supporting Environment in Canada – best practices
17.35 – 18.00	Andrej Šik, SDGZ in Erik Švab, Euroservis: Presentation of Slovenian economic association and Euroservis
18.00 – 18.15	Coffee break
18.15 – 18.30	Marina Letonja and Rudina Heroi: Educational Structure in top 500 Fast-growing Companies in Europe (research presentation)
18.30 – 18.45	Jaka Vadnjal: Determinants of Entrepreneurial Success in Slovenia (research presentation)
18.45 – 19.00	Janez Damjan: Relation of high school pupils towards Entrepreneurship (research presentation)
19.00 – 20.15	Round table: How important seems knowledge to fast growing companies and entrepreneurs in fast growing companies? Speakers: Peter Vipavc, VIBA, Andrej Šik, SDGZ, Erik Švab, Euroservis, Polona Smonig, Toyota Adria, Blaž Kos, Business Angels Slovenija, Ph.D. Jaka Vadnjal, GEA College, Ph.D.  Aleš Mihelič, MVZT, Jugoslav Petkovič, Mimovrste
20.15 – 21.00	Conclusion of the Conference with a Banquet