The Georgia State University – J. Mack Robinson College of Business recently served as host for the MIS Academic Leadership Conference, a gathering of almost 100 leaders in management information systems.
The conference, which took place on Nov. 3-5, invited deans, department chairs and faculty members in the information systems field from universities across the globe. Leaders gathered to discuss the current challenges and opportunities facing the industry today, largely a result of developments in digital technology.
Robinson College dean Richard D. Phillips opened the conference, commenting on how adapting to the changing industry will help students become better leaders in the future.
“We all can and must learn from each other as this technological revolution continues to transform business, economies, political hierarchies and societies,” he said.
During the conference, attendees participated in sessions which focused on exploring the role of information systems in today’s business school’s, looked at international perspectives on information systems programs, discussed new analytics initiatives and much more.
Other discussions included cybersecurity, industry-university partnerships and the effects of technological shifts on the job market.
“The university’s culture is to embrace the information we have,” said Georgia State president Mark P. Becker said, “using the tools available, to identify what works for students and scale it for everyone.”
The conference also included a panel of editors from some of the top information systems journals. “This is an extraordinarily exciting time as digital innovations are creating new possibilities and challenging assumptions in virtually every facet of business and society,” said Arun Rai, Regent’s professor and editor-in-chief of MIS Quarterly. “The sessions surfaced powerful ideas, rich experiences, and diverse perspectives on how best to seize the opportunities for high-impact research and cutting-edge programs in information systems.”