A forthcoming conference will explore how innovative partnerships driven by business schools can make a positive impact on emerging markets.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and the Global Business School Network (GBSN) will co-host the fifth annual Global Business School Network conference in Washington, D.C.

The conference, which takes place from June 10-11 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, will provide an opportunity for business school leaders from around the world to connect with stakeholders from government, non-profit and private-sector organizations to exchange ideas, share global expertise and develop partnerships.

This year's conference is themed "Innovation for Impact: Business Schools at the Crossroads of Development" and will focus on the innovative and entrepreneurial ways business schools are collaborating with academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the public and private sector to improve management and business education in emerging markets.

"Our annual conference is an excellent opportunity to build bridges between business schools and their stakeholders from around the world," says Guy Pfeffermann, CEO of the Global Business School Network.

"This year we will be particularly interested in looking at the increased role business schools are playing in national development. By providing business savvy and management know-how to innovators and entrepreneurs, business schools are propelling new technologies to market, creating new job opportunities, and supporting inclusive economic growth in emerging markets."

GBSN is a non-profit organization based in Washington DC working to strengthen management education for emerging markets through a unique global network of business schools. The network helps to provide the rigorous yet practical local training business and management that students demand, resulting in a stronger pool of local leadership and management talent for all sectors.

The Global Business School Network facilitates knowledge-sharing among more than 30 member schools and partners to help build programs at business schools in emerging markets. The goal is to establish strong management education to provide a solid pool of business leaders to local, regional and multinational organizations in those markets.

As member of the Network, the Smith School was a natural partner for the organization's Washington, D.C. conference, say the organisers.

"We are thrilled to be co-hosting this global conference," said G. "Anand" Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. "As business educators, it is so important that we work together to help our peer institutions in emerging markets to develop programs that cultivate strong leaders who understand how to innovate and use business to impact the greater good -- ideals we are working to instil in our students here at the Smith School and hope all business leaders embrace."

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. The Smith School was accepted into the Network in August 2009 for its commitment to educating men and women to become agents of positive change in the world by exposing them to new business practices, different cultures and new ways of thinking. Smith students have the opportunity to travel throughout the world to learn about business through coursework and study trips.

The Smith School has a history as a leader in entrepreneurship education, with the 23-year-old Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship being one of the first such centers in the nation. In September 2009, the Smith School launched the Center for Social Value Creation to support faculty research and provide students with hands-on learning opportunities to apply business principles to global social and environmental challenges.

The Smith School also is home to the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), one of 31 such centers at business schools funded by a U.S. Department of Education grant.

The 2009 Global Business School Network conference was held at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business in South Africa, with more than 90 representatives of business schools, foundations, civil society, government and companies representing 23 different countries across 5 continents attending.

Past conferences have been co-hosted by the United States International University in Kenya, INSEAD in France, and the Tuck School of Business in the USA.

The 2010 conference is expecting thought provoking speakers and contributors with invited speakers including James D. Wolfensohn, Chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, LLC and the former President of the World Bank Group, Debora L. Spar President of Barnard College and former Senior Associate Dean at Harvard Business School, and Simon Johnson, Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management at MIT and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund.