Summary
The UK & Ireland PRME Regional Chapter is a vibrant community of academics now with 70 institutional members. Colleagues in member institutions are committed to implementing the 6 Principles for Responsible Management Education and mainstreaming the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in to the curriculum, research and external engagement activities. While the Chapter offers a number of engagement opportunities throughout the year, the main event is the Annual Conference. Our Conference is characterised by its emphasis on practice, and offers colleagues the opportunity to exchange examples of how they are implementing the 6 Principles, either on an individual or institutional level.
Hosting the UK & Ireland PRME Regional Conference offers member Institutions the opportunity to both showcase their own commitment to the PRME initiative, and to strengthen the PRME Community of Practice in their own Institution, regionally, and nationally. The deadline for applications is Friday 30th April 2021, with the winning bid announced by Monday 31st May 2021.
Background
At our Chapter’s Annual General Meeting in 2018, to facilitate greater forward planning, it was agreed that we would plan two years ahead. The UK & Ireland PRME Regional Chapter Annual Conference takes place over three days, and traditionally takes place at the end of June or start of July, although this is subject to discussion.
The UK & Ireland PRME Chapter Foundation meeting in 2013 was held at Aston University, and was followed by our inaugural conference in Winchester in 2014. Since then, conference hosts have been Glasgow Caledonian University (2015), Nottingham University Business School (2016), Newcastle Business School, University of Northumbria (2017), Queen Mary, University of London (2018), Leeds University Business School (2019) and Lincoln International Business School (2020-2021).
The 2020 conference has been rescheduled and will be hosted by Lincoln International Business School on 5th - 7th July 2021. Due to the rescheduling of the 2020 conference the Chapter will be holding a 1 day online meeting on July 8th 2020 (details to follow).
While the central focus of our Annual Conference is the 6 Principles and the SDGs, organisers normally propose an associated theme. We challenge potential hosts to think ‘out of the box’ when presenting their conference theme. Some past conferences have been organised in conjunction with a related event, or conference, taking place in the locality.
Expressions of Interest
Chapter member institutions that would like to host the 2022 conference are asked to submit an expression of interest by close of play Friday 30th April 2021, with the winning bid announced by Monday 31st May 2021. The Steering Committee emphasises ‘affordability’ for our Annual Conference, and in past years, the delegate fee for the conference has been in the range £130 - £180. For this reason, the host of the conference is expected to provide conference facilities free of charge. Delegates pay the conference fee directly to the hosting Institution to cover the costs of in-house catering and an informal dinner in a local restaurant. Delegates pay for accommodation directly to the service provider. Applicants are asked to confirm that their Institution is happy to host the conference on this basis and that the decision to host the conference has the full support of the Institution’s senior management.
EoIs should come in two parts:
1. A letter, signed by the Dean/PVC or highest executive confirming the desire to host the conference.
2. A completed template with further information clearly indicating the name of the academic who will coordinate organisation of the conference both internally and in liaison with the Steering Committee.
It is hoped that both academics and students from the host Institution will participate actively in the conference.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of hosting the UKI PRME conference in advance of submitting your EoI, please feel free to contact the Chair of the Chapter, Dr Alec Wersun Otherwise simply submit your EoI to prme_uki@gcu.ac.uk by Friday 30th April 2021.
On behalf of the Steering Committee:
Dr Alec Wersun,
Chair, UKI PRME Regional Chapter