Responsible Innovation Summit at the Faculty of Business and Economics

Joint action by business and society

As a result of advancing digitalisation and climate change, the economy and society are increasingly confronted with changing framework conditions that make responsible and sustainable innovation increasingly necessary. This affects society, politics, companies and private individuals alike - everyone is called upon to act together. The Faculty of Business and Economics therefore hosted the fourth public Responsible Innovation Summit on Thursday, 12 June 2025, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Central Lecture Hall Building on the campus of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. The alumni conference offers a discussion forum to address the topic of innovative capacity from various perspectives and the relevant issues.

The conference aims to provide a networking platform for politicians, businesspeople, students, alumni and members of the public. During lectures and workshops, representatives from various companies' management teams and boards will discuss topics such as risk management in the sustainability sector, female leadership, AI in auditing, and innovative solutions for meeting the challenges of modern securities-based pension and wealth planning. Alumni and professors of the faculty organise the individual events.

In the morning, Beate Rosenthal (Partner Global Consumer & Health Platform at Roland Berger) and Dr Hagen Duenbostel (Chairman of the KWS Group Supervisory Board) will deliver keynote speeches on the transformation of companies amid the conflict between artificial intelligence and sustainability, and on responsible entrepreneurship amidst international conflict.

In addition, students will present the results of their seminar, 'Responsible Innovation in Theory and Practice', at a poster session. During the course, they have examined the various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations from practical and scientific perspectives. They present topics of their choice on posters, such as implementation and sustainability strategies in companies, the development of sustainable products, and the influence on consumer behaviour.

The afternoon's panel discussion will focus on the topic of 'Building expertise in the field of AI'. The discussion will be joined by Dr Frederike Fritzsche (Chief Tech Transformation Officer at OTTO Group), Dominik Kopp (Head of IT Software Development & Innovation at Sartorius AG), Tobias Vinhoven (Product Owner of AI and Data Science at Schumann GmbH) and Prof. Dr. Michael Wolff (Chair of Management and Control).

From 10 p.m., professors from the faculty will perform as DJs at Club Savoy. All ticket proceeds are donated to social causes. The Faculty of Business and Economics organises the "Profs@Turntables" event together with the Leo Club Gutingi Göttingen and the Savoy as the conclusion of the Responsible Innovation Summit.

The Responsible Innovation Summit is an alumni-sponsored event for companies, founders, scientists and students alike and is held under the motto of sustainable development and transformation. "Responsible Innovation", i.e. the idea of enlightened, responsible innovation activity by economic actors (individuals or organisations), forms the overarching guiding principle of the faculty in research and teaching. The conference is organised with the kind support of KWS Saat SE and Sartorius. The event will take place in German.

Further information about registration, the programme and the speakers: https://ris-goettingen.de/ (in German)