Would you like to organize an EGOS Colloquium?

The European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) would like to invite applications from academic institutions for the organization of its annual EGOS Colloquium.
 
Hosting this major intellectual event provides a real opportunity for the host institution to engage with the organizational studies community as well as the opportunity to showcase the School.

The EGOS Colloquium

The annual Colloquium is central to EGOS, our membership and the delegates who attend. The Colloquium attracts a wide range of scholars from the organizational studies community. Around 2,200+ delegates attend, travelling from about 60 different countries, to participate in a range of keynotes, sub-plenaries and regular sessions arranged into 65+ sub-themes. The Colloquium offers opportunities to share ideas, network, and present current research and discuss policy initiatives.
 
Our most recent Colloquium in 2022 was hosted by the WU – Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), after an online edition in 2021, hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands), because of the pandemic.
The next three Colloquia will offer both in-person and hybrid sub-themes.

  • 39th EGOS Colloquium, July 6–8, 2023: University of Cagliari (Sardinia), Cagliari, Italy

  • 40th EGOS Colloquium, July 4–6, 2024: University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

  • 41st EGOS Colloquium, July 3–5, 2025: Alba Graduate Business School at The American College of Greece, Athens, Greece


Applications

To ensure fairness and transparency in selecting hosting institutions, EGOS has implemented a formal tendering process. This process is overseen by the EGOS Executive Board, who provides academic oversight and support to the local Colloquium organizing team.
 
We invite interested institutions to contact the EGOS Executive Secretariat to note their interest by the end of October, followed by a detailed proposal (see below) during the first week of December four years prior to the Colloquium. – For example, proposals for the 42nd EGOS Colloquium 2026 have to be submitted in December 2022.

Please email an expression of interest (October), and the detailed proposal (December; incl. respective documents = pdf files) to the EGOS Executive Secretariat: executive-secretariat@egos.org
 
After an initial short-listing process one or more institutions will be invited to attend the EGOS Board Meeting in late January to present and discuss their proposal.
 

Physical and Technical Requirements of the Venue

Since the EGOS Colloquium 2022 in Vienna, and for reasons of inclusion and sustainability, we encourage hybrid options, thereby enabling in a number of hybrid sub-themes (17 in Cagliari 2023 and approx. 23 in Milan 2024) the opportunity for participants to join EGOS Colloquia online, alongside on-site participants. Please specify how many hybrid sub-themes you can potentially offer. Please also state which kind of technology and local support you would be able to provide.

The pre-Colloquium activities and the main Colloquium events are held over five days, usually during the first week in July (Tuesday–Saturday).
 
Tuesday. The pre-Colloquium PhD Workshop and the pre-Colloquium Post-Doctoral & Early Career Scholars Workshop are one-day events to be held on Tuesday, starting at 09:00 and closing at 18:30. The organizing convenors would need to have access to the venue from 08:00 until 19:30. For the two workshops the required facilities are:

  • Auditorium for up to 1,500+ delegates (plenary);

  • 1 seminar room (capacity 120–150);

  • 1 seminar room (capacity 50–60);

  • 25–30 meeting rooms (capacity for 4+ delegates per room);

  • 4–5 additional classrooms for contingency;

  • Dinner venue (for approximately 150).

 
Wednesday. The pre-Colloquium activities continue on Wednesday with 4–6 Pre-Colloquium Development Workshops (PDWs), the EGOS Women’s Network Meeting (WNM), a number of board meetings, which are often followed by the Colloquium Welcome Reception. For this, the required facilities are:

  • 4–6 seminar rooms (capacity 50–60) for PDWs and WNM;

  • 5 seminar rooms (capacity 50–60) for board meetings;

  • Venue for the Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening (1,500 standing). This is often hosted by the City in one of its halls.

 
Thursday–Saturday. The main Colloquium starts on Thursday with an Opening Plenary Session and the EGOS Awards Ceremony (there is the option to have this on Wednesday late afternoon/early evening). The 7 sub-theme sessions take place during all three days from Thursday until Saturday, and there are two sets of 6–8 sub-plenaries and the EGOS General Assembly. Previous in-person Colloquia have attracted up to 2,400 delegates. For the Colloquium itself, the following facilities are required:

  • Auditorium for 1,000+ (or auditoriums with linked AV) for the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday late afternoon or Thursday morning, for 90 minutes;

  • 6–8 Auditoriums (to seat 100–500) for Sub-Plenaries for 1 hour on Thursday and 1 hour on Friday;

  • 65–75 seminar rooms for sub-themes (capacity between 30–60 persons per room);

  • 5-10 seminar rooms for sub-themes (capacity between 60–100 persons per room);

  • Combined exhibition and catering area (tables for about 8-10 publishers);

  • Convenors Dinner venue on Thursday (for up to 220);

  • Colloquium Dinner & Party venue on Friday (for approximately 1,000).

 
Minor adjustments to the program are possible, but limited. Please see the Archive section on the EGOS website for examples of previous programs. Whether venues are all provided by the host institution needs to be determined. Note though that EGOS Colloquia are never held in conference facilities, be that hotels or conference centers. Institutions lacking space can co-organize with another university in the same city (as was the case in Tallinn 2018, for example).
 
All standards of accommodation need to be considered, that includes a variety of hotels and student accommodation as close to the Colloquium venue as possible.
 

Content of the proposal

The proposal, to be emailed during the first week of December, must include the following information:

  • Outline of the venue for the one day pre-Colloquium PhD Workshop and the pre-Colloquium Post-Doctoral & Early Career Scholars Workshop plus joint dinner.

  • Outline of the venue for the Pre-Colloquium Development Workshops (PDWs), EGOS Women’s Network Meeting and board meetings.

  • Outline of the venue for the main Colloquium.

  • Dates of the Colloquium (ultimately set by EGOS, almost always during the first week of July).

  • Indicate who would be the Colloquium local Organizing Committee Chair, and points of contacts for the Colloquium (usually including a dedicated administrator/project manager from the host institution).

  • Outline the range of local accommodation available, including student accommodation, and its price range.

  • Give outline costs both for holding the Colloquium, including social program venues, catering and equipment costs. It is expected that the host institution will provide all rooms and auditoriums for the pre- and the main Colloquium venue/s free of charge.

  • Outline sustainability initiatives, taking in to account the EGOS Sustainability Principles.

  • Describe accessibility within and around the venue (including any restrictions to wheelchair access and public transport services).

  • Indicate possible themes, their rationales, and identify an academic link for the Colloquium.

  • Outline any contributions to be made from the institution (financial or in kind).

  • Outline possible sponsorship.

  • Outline a risk management plan, including for pandemic.

  • Existing and likely future support of EGOS from EGOS members at the institution.

 

Agreement

It is important that an agreement is raised and signed between the host institution and EGOS, which that outlines the acceptance of the host institution for underwriting and liabilities for the Colloquium. This should be put in place and signed as early as possible once key parameters for the event are known.
 
It should be noted that EGOS works closely with the host institution in the planning and organization of the event. However, EGOS retains the right to make final decisions based on its overall direction, delegate expectations and the management function of the event.
 
For more information about hosting an EGOS Colloquium, feel free to contact the EGOS Chair and/or the EGOS Board member in charge of Colloquia (see Board contacts and responsibilities on the EGOS website). We would be very happy to have an initial informal chat.
You are also invited to reach out to former EGOS Colloquium organizers.