WBC 2012 - IMDA 21st Annual World Business Congress

The 21st World Business Congress of the International Management Development Association (IMDA) will be held in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2012 and is hosted jointly by HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences. Scholarly papers, panel/special session proposals, and case study exercises for presentation and subsequent publication in the award winning refereed congress proceedings are invited. In addition to sharing scholarship regarding global business issues, the congress offers an excellent opportunity to meet colleagues from around the world and enables participants to exchange information and ideas on a variety of global business topics.

VENUE

Finland is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russian Federation in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland and it is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area. Finland is an exciting and somewhat mysterious country. The cycle of the year is marked by huge contrasts, such as the polar night in winter, with its dramatic northern lights, and by the midnight sun in summer. Finland is famous for its innovations, technological development and competitiveness. The World Competitiveness Report ranked Finland 7th overall in 2011.

Helsinki is the capital and the largest city of Finland. It is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural and research center as well as one of northern Europe's major cities. Approximately 70% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the greater Helsinki region. The City of Helsinki is an active supporter of art and culture. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.

HAAGA-HELIA is an international university of applied sciences that prepares professionals for business and services. It offers students great opportunities for a versatile choice of studies including specializations, high-quality education in Finnish, Swedish and English. The approximately 10,500 students and 700 employees at HAAGA-HELIA base their activities on highly advanced national and international expertise. The fields of education are business administration, hotel-restaurant-tourism management, information technology, journalism, management training programs, sports management and vocational teacher education. Haaga-Helia cooperates with more than 170 partner universities throughout the world. International degree programs of HAAGA-HELIA have over 1000 foreign students enrolled in more than 80 countries. Furthermore, some 360 foreign exchange students visit Haaga-Helia every year.

Business people, public policy makers, consultants and academics can choose from the wide range of topics within global business development. The Congress offers keynote addresses, formal paper symposia, case study presentations, special sessions, such as "Meet the Editors," and an industry leadership and public policy makers panel discussions as well as a Doctoral Research Seminar. We are also planning a day tour to Tallinn, Estonia on July 4 and a two-day tour by a ferryboat to St. Petersburg, Russian Federation during July 8 and July 9, 2012.