DRUID Academy 2027
Odense, January 20-January 22, 2027 
Submission deadline: November 22, 2026
Program available: January 5, 2027
Website: www.druid.dk

 

The DRUID Academy 2027 conference provides a unique space for early career researchers (PhD researcher and young scholars up to 2 years after PhD) to present and discuss their ongoing research. The aim of the DRUID Academy 2027 is to bring together young and established scholars from management, organization studies, economics, economic geography, and adjacent disciplines to discuss early and ongoing research projects. The Academy will provide a unique opportunity for matching and mentoring young scholars by seniors. The main purpose of the DRUID academy is to support young scholars, network building, and advancement of new knowledge.

 

Highlights of the DRUID Academy

  • Presentations: Each participant will present their paper or PhD project and receive a discussion from a fellow junior participant and a senior discussant.

  • Keynotes: There will be two keynote presentations by esteemed scholars:

    • 1. Henry Sauermann (ESMT Berlin)

    • 2. tbd.

  • Editor roundtable: In an open format, editors of leading field journals will share their editorial experiences and answer open questions on the submission, review, and publication process.

  • Interactions and discussions: We expect 60 participants as well as 15-20 senior researchers to attend the DRUID Academy. The open DRUID atmosphere and the planned social events will provide extensive opportunities to interact and discuss.

  • The Bent Dalum PhD Award: DRUID gives an award for the most promising PhD research project presented at the DRUID Academy Conferences. The award is given in the memory of Bent Dalum (1946-2010), one of the main drivers of joint PhD education in Europe within the field of innovation studies.

  • Venue: The DRUID Academy 2027 takes place at the SDU Business School of the University of Southern Denmark, Campus Odense.

 

The DRUID Community

DRUID is an open international network of scholars interested in innovation, dynamics, and change processes in technologies, firms, industries, ecosystems, and spatial units. From a multidisciplinary perspective, research questions evolve around micro level phenomena such as creativity, incentives, strategies, determinants, and outcomes on the actor level, meso-level organizational phenomena, involving structural pattern, ecosystems, and dynamics in industries and technologies, and macro level determinants and outcomes such as institutional dynamics, economic growth, and policy perspectives. DRUID promotes open and multiplex perspectives on theory, research methods, data, and encourages new ways of doing research.

 

Submission Guidelines

All young scholars (PhD researcher, PostDocs and equivalent up to two years after PhD) must submit a one-page abstract (no more, no less, no tables or graphs, and only few key references are allowed) before the deadline of November 22, 2026 (Twelve noon, your local time) through the conference website www.druid.dk. Submission site opens October 5, 2026.

The abstract should start with the title of your submission, followed by your name, affiliation, (expected) date of the PhD, and e-mail address. This information is to come before the body of the abstract, which should be written in plain text (that is, without bullet-points or other special codes). All above information is to be copied into the abstract field/box at the submission site.

The abstract should focus on your research question and your own contribution. The abstract should mirror the full paper and could include following points: 1) briefly describe the existing state-of-the-art and positioning of your contribution; 2) explain the research gap that you are trying to fill and pose a research question; 3) give your main theoretical arguments; 4) spell out your method (and data, if an empirical paper); 5) present your results; and 6) the contributions to the literature. Submission of an abstract gives the organizers permission to disseminate it and the accompanying paper electronically or place it on the conference website. We reserve the right to reject abstracts that do not comply with the above requirements.

DRUID uses available software to check for plagiarism and to take appropriate action in severe cases. Details are available under Terms and Conditions on the website.

 

Conference fee

Each participant will be charged a fee of Euro 330. The fee and the DRUID Academy will cover all meals from Wednesday January 20 after lunch until Friday January 22, lunch included. A list of hotels and directions to the Academy Conference will be available on the website.

 

Timetable (All deadlines are twelve noon, your local time)

  • Submission site opens: October 5, 2026

  • Deadline for abstract submission: November 22, 2026

  • Decision of abstract acceptance: December 1, 2026

  • Deadline for registration and payment of conference fee: December 15, 2026

  • Deadline for submission of final paper: January 2, 2027

  • Program available: December 21, 2026

 

Conference Organizers

Mette Præst Knudsen (Chair), Martin Kalthaus, Stefano Basilico, Janet Rafner, Christoffer Hansen Eichler, Pascale Schäkel, and Jeanette Hvarregaard (Secretary).

For any inquiries regarding the DRUID Academy 2027, please contact Martin Kalthaus via kalthaus@sdu.dk