Actualités
DRUID 2024 Conference: SKEMA faculty stand out among leading global institutions
The DRUID conference is one of the most renowned global events on innovation and attracts approximately 350 esteemed researchers every year from across the world. Traditionally held in Copenhagen, it has also been hosted by prestigious institutions such as New York University. Its 2024 edition took place at the University Côte d’Azur, thanks to the partnership between SKEMA Business School and the University Côte d’Azur, under the auspices of the KTO (Knowledge, Technology, and Organisation) research centre and the Gredeg (Research Group in Law, Economics, and Management).
Managed by SKEMA professors Diego Zunino and Ludovic Dibiaggio, and professors Jackie Krafft (GREDEG) and Olivier Bruno (ELMI, University Côte d’Azur research school), this edition focused on artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting the intellectual leadership of the region. The main lectures were delivered by Mary Tripsas (UC Santa Barbara) and Joshua Gans (University of Toronto), an expert in innovation and AI economics.
Is AI linked to skill loss?
The debates addressed topics such as the relationship between AI and skill loss, with contributions from Abishek Nagaraj (UC Berkeley), Hyunjin Kim (INSEAD), Maria Savona (LUISS), and Neil Thompson (MIT). They also discussed the usefulness of management studies using sports data, led by Christophe Grimpe (CBS), Annamaria Conti (IE University), Elisa Operti (ESSEC), and Jan Ross (Imperial College). Professor Soomi Kim (Columbia) won the best paper award for her study on the impact of "molecular replacement" technology on knowledge production in molecular biology.
SKEMA faculty lead the way
SKEMA stood out with nine professors and four doctoral students who presented, discussed, or participated as panellists and session chairs. Annamaria Conti and Elisa Operti participated in the KTO PDW before the conference, a workshop aimed at training and facilitating the networking of doctoral students interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. The KTO team also organised two pre-conference workshops: one on AI, led by Ludovic Dibiaggio and Iris Poon, featuring presentations from Gautam Ahuja (Cornell Tech), Milan Miric (USC Marshall), Hyunjin Kim (INSEAD), and Simone Vannuccini, junior chair of AI economics; and a second workshop directed by Thorsten Wahle and Mehdi Ibn Brahim, gathering academic talents such as Cedric Gutierrez (Bocconi) and Chiara Spina (INSEAD), along with the editor-in-chief of the Academy of Management Journal.
Workshop by Ludovic Dibiaggio
Alongside the DRUID conference, Gautam Ahuja, Simone Vannuccini, and Ludovic Dibiaggio organised a workshop featuring presentations from Milan Miric (USC Marshall), Hyunjin Kim (INSEAD), Iris Poon (SKEMA doctoral student), and Ekaterina Prytkova (postdoc at UniCA and member of the junior chair of AI economics co-funded by SKEMA). Simone Vannuccini provided the introduction, while Ludovic Dibiaggio moderated the roundtable discussion.
