Solutions in Enterprise
30 September 2010 - 01 October 2010
Venue: University of Aberdeen
Co-operatives, mutuals, and employee-owned business in a global context
Attachments:
Workshops Thursday 30th Sept, 2pm - 3.30pm
Programme Thursday 30th Sept 4pm - Friday 1st Oct 5pm
Registration Form (MS Word)
Campus Map (highlighting relevant venues)
About the event:
This international conference draws together a range of perspectives on the subject of enterprise. How is enterprise understood in the world today? What role might the co-operative movement play in debates about the meaning and practice of enterprise?
Conference sessions and workshops will address the impact of different sectors of the co-operative movement in terms of building communities, generating economic growth, and educating young people in sustainable development and social responsibility.
A joint initiative of the University of Aberdeen and the Co-operative Education Trust Scotland
Proudly supported by the Scottish Programme for Entrepreneurship
Programme:
THURSDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER 2010
14.00 – 15.30 - WORKSHOPS, MR028 (CPD SUITE) MACROBERT BUILDING
Theme: Ethics and its impact on education and enterprise.
Aberdeen University Student Veg Bag Co-operative
Discover how the pro-active students at Aberdeen set up their own co-operative enterprise to promote and provide affordable, organic and unprocessed fruit and veg.
Ethics in Enterprise
Run by the Co-operative Education Trust Scotland, this workshop will cover a brief introduction to co-operatives and their values and principles, and also look at the impact ethics in enterprise education can have on the learning experience of pupils and students, especially within Curriculum for Excellence.
The Meaning of Ownership: Ellen & Isobel's bicycle
Fred Freundlich (Mondragon University) will run this workshop, discussing different enterprise structures with a view to creating an organisation based on values of equity and fairness.
16.30 - 18.30 - DRINKS RECEPTION, LINKLATER ROOMS
Welcome and introductions
Professor Ian Diamond – Principal of the University of Aberdeen
Keynote address
What do we know about enterprise? The roles of theory and evidence
Professor Gavin Reid – University of St. Andrews
Co-operatives – The Best Kept Secret in the World
Iain Macdonald , Director-General of the International Co-operative Alliance
FRIDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2010
09.30 – 10.30 - REGISTRATIONS, KING'S COLLEGE CONFERENCE CENTRE
10.30 – 12.30 - Co-operation in Practice, Chair: Hugh Donnelly
Graduating into Co-operative Enterprise
Mike Sweatman – Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operativeThe Mondragon Experience
Fred Freundlich & Izaskun Alzola - Mondragon UnibertsitateaEmployees are doing it for themselves
David Erdal – Baxi Partnership
Q&A
12.30 – 13.30 - LUNCH
13.30 – 14.30 - Co-operative Enterprise in Higher Education, Chair: Elizabeth Macknight
Developing our future leaders of Co-operative Enterprise
Diarmuid McDonnell – Co-operative Education Trust ScotlandGrowing the Scottish Co-operative Economy
Sarah Deas - Co-operative Development ScotlandThe Bigger Picture: Co-operative Enterprise in all its forms
Stephen Kelly - Co-operation and Mutuality Scotland
14.30 – 17.00 - The Future of Co-operation, Chair: Hugh Donnelly
Roundtable discussion session featuring:
Fred Freundlich – Mondragon Unibertsitatea
John Struthers – University of the West of Scotland
Martin Parker – Warwick Business School
Discussion will focus on the following four topics:
- Relationship between employee ownership and productivity - are employee owned businesses more efficient?
- Public and political support for co-operative/employee-owned sector - is the mutualisation of public services just another form of democratic public ownership or back door privatisation?
- Why employee-ownership is something that is done to employees - if employee ownership is such a good thing, why isn't it in more demand?
- The teaching of alternative forms of enterprise - where do the business schools and universities stand in this?
17.00 - CLOSE
Registrations:
Registrations for the Thursday afternoon workshops and the conference (including the drinks reception) are free.
Please return registration forms using the following mediums to confirm your attendance at the workshops and/or conference:by email: diarmuid@cets.coop
by post:
fao Diarmuid McDonnell
Co-operative Education Trust Scotland
87 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 2EE
About Aberdeen
General information about Aberdeen and Scotland – including information on buses and taxis, entertainment and eating out is on the website http://www.abdn.ac.uk/newstudents/aberdeen/.