Jacobs Career Symposium 2019

Goal

The opening event of the yearly Jacobs Alumni Homecoming is devoted to challenging issues in the fields of career development, the world of employment, and interactions between higher education and society. The Jacobs Career Symposium is organized by the Career Services Center at Jacobs University, and aims to foster a constructive discussion as well as networking opportunities between alumni from all over the world, current students, professors, employers, and additional experts. 

Format 

A keynote speaker as well as a selected panel of entrepreneurial experts are invited to contribute and to interact with a moderator in a discussion on the basis of their diverse backgrounds and expertise. The reflection on the Symposium topic between the speakers is followed by an open debate with the audience, where further questions will be addressed and answered. The event ends with a socializing get-together, giving all participants the opportunity to continue exchanging ideas as well as to expand their professional networks. 

Theme 

Today’s world economy is characterized by one megatrend: the disruption of established businesses- a disruption emerging from two opposing objectives. On one hand, fast growth, in connection with outstanding profits, are the main components of the modern economic system. On the other hand, assuming social responsibility is becoming more and more important for the startup scene mindset. We observe the growing political confidence of the so-called generation Z, with examples like the “Fridays for Future” movement led by a 16 years-old Greta Thunberg seeking to establish new norms of social responsibility. Younger generations seem to be more focused on social justice, gender equality, anti-discrimination and the environmental sustainability, than on becoming wealthy. Making profits is no longer the only hype – but rather to also spread the “wealth”. In this light, the three main impacts of starting up a business are: 

Profitability and social responsibility as main drivers of entrepreneurialism are influencing the way people interact within and outside of a company. In this regard, starting up “smart” businesses can help create jobs and further develop ideas for life and the society. But how does the contemporary innovation and disruption correspond to the need for a value-based society and economy? And what are the ethical challenges for startups? How relevant are these for the economic success of a young company? And how do the young generations of entrepreneurs incorporate these challenges into their startup ideas? Or are we even facing an entire disruption of the businesses as we knew them so far- aka a complete change of economic discourse?

If you want to attend the event, please register on: https://jacobs-university.jobteaser.com/en/events/48104-career-symposium-2019 (students) or write an Email to c.klaehn@jacobs-university.de (external guests)

Program