GETM4 (Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management 4) is an international, interdisciplinary research and innovation project running from 2023 to 2027 under Horizon Europe – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges, which support the international mobility of researchers and the development of their competences. The project examines how the development and management of entrepreneurship and talent, underpinned by responsible digital innovation, can help individuals, organisations and society respond to disruption while strengthening health, well-being and sustainable development.

The consortium brings together 12 universities, among them the University of Ljubljana, and five industry partners from nine countries: alongside Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Estonia, North Macedonia, Kenya, South Korea and Chile. The exchanges include week-long organised events that rotate between partner institutions four times a year; the eleventh was hosted by the University of Nairobi, and the twelfth comes to Ljubljana.

“GETM4 is an exceptional opportunity to become part of an international research environment, to exchange knowledge and experience and, above all, to build long-term research networks and new collaborations. Over the project’s four years, at least 36 researchers from the University of Ljubljana have gone or will go abroad for a month or more.”

Prof. Nada Zupan, PhD, School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, GETM4 project lead at the University of Ljubljana

The opening day at UL SEB is a joint conference of GETM4 and researchers from the Balkan region entitled Digital Transformation, Well-being and Sustainable Future, organised by the School in cooperation with the Academy of Management (AOM) and the Slovenian Academy of Management (SAM). All three opening plenary talks turn the lens on academic work itself: Oliver Alexy (Technical University of Munich) on theory development in the age of AI, Ivan Župič (Goldsmiths, University of London) on reviewing papers in the age of AI, and Matej Černe (UL SEB) on keeping work human in the age of AI. These are followed by discussions on the tools and ethics of using AI in research and on the experience of journal editors. The day closes with a keynote by Dipak Chand Jain, President Emeritus and Professor of Marketing at CEIBS.

Over the following days the programme moves between member faculties. On Tuesday, the Faculty of Social Sciences hosts the core project work – work package workshops and U GET ME!, a meeting with the business community organised by the project’s corporate partner Mediade – and the day closes with a talk by Sara Isaković on psychological resilience. On Wednesday, participants take part in measurements at the Faculty of Sport under SLOfit, the Slovenian national physical fitness surveillance system that has tracked the physical development of children and young people for more than half a century. Thursday belongs to the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, with a discussion on AI in teaching and a presentation of student projects; in the afternoon, Vice-Rector Prof. Janez Vogrinc, PhD, receives the guests at the University of Ljubljana rectorate. The week ends with a professional and cultural day in the Gorenjska region.

Visiting speakers also include Vinod Aggarwal of the University of California, Berkeley. The title of the week – Thrive Differently: Work, Move, Recharge! – is more than a slogan: the programme deliberately builds in guided active breaks, fitness measurements and relaxation sessions. A conference that discusses well-being at work also practises it.

From research to practice

“The project also aims to ensure that results do not stay within academia but deliver concrete value to companies. Drawing on international research, for example, we have developed practical recommendations on how organisations can foster entrepreneurship among employees while caring for their health and well-being. Both matter especially in today’s fast-changing and increasingly digitalised working environment, which brings employees and organisations many new challenges.”

Prof. Nada Zupan, PhD, School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana

More about the project: getm4.com  |  Contact: Prof. Nada Zupan, PhD, nada.zupan@ef.uni-lj.si