Photo: Ulla Hytti, Emmi Laakso and Jarna Heinonen warmly welcome European researchers in entrepreneurship to Turku. RENT has been organised in Turku once before, in 2001. Hytti and Heinonen, who participated in organising the last conference as well, say that the participants still reminisce about their previous visit to Turku. – The conference dinner at Turku Castle in a quiet snowfall left an impression on many.
Two important organisations, the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB) and European Institute of Advanced Management Studies (EIASM), are behind the annual conference.
The European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship ECSB is responsible for the contents and scientific level of the conference together with the local organisers. The researchers of entrepreneurship at Turku School of Economics are active members of the organisation and its secretariat is located in Turku. The goal of ECSB is to support the career development and networks of European researchers and to develop research in entrepreneurship. The practical arrangements are carried out by EIASM that supports management research and postgraduate studies.
Research Director Ulla Hytti, Professor Jarna Heinonen and Project Researcher Emmi Laakso from the Entrepreneurship Unit of Turku School of Economics made the conference application with the support of the Congress Services of Visit Turku. The City of Turku supports the application and planning of scientific conferences.
– Turku was selected as the organiser of the RENT conference as we are known for our high-quality research on entrepreneurship and Turku as an organiser of first-rate conferences. RENT is known globally and organising it strengthens the recognition of our entrepreneurship research and researchers, say the organisers.
The themes of the conference are related to different models and impact of entrepreneurial universities.
– The University of Turku has a strategy for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship training and it wants to develop entrepreneurial attitudes and practices in the entire University community by profiling itself as an entrepreneurial university. Also other European universities have the same goal, so in 2021 it will be interesting to discuss this theme on the basis of research results.
Photos: Logomo and Moona Rahikainen, Taru Suhonen