Inaugural responsible business symposium seen as a success

A crowd of about 50 attended California State University, Monterey Bay’s first International Responsible Business Social Impact symposium on Thursday, Nov. 2.

The event featured poster presentations of student research, short lectures on faculty research and projects, and an online international discussion of responsible business practices and solutions that included presenters from Taiwan. About 80 participants were logged into the webinar, said associate professor Jenny Lin, who helped organize the event. 

Lin said she and professor Eric Tao both saw a need for a forum to address socially oriented issues as they relate to business. 

“This is what’s happening in the industry,” Lin said. “Societal impact – that’s a huge thing we’re pursuing.”

Tao said it was also a chance for CSUMB to be seen on a broader stage. 

“We want to have a global outreach for our mission,” he said. 

The live symposium included associate professor Mohamed Abouzahra discussing his research on seniors using wearable technology. Assistant professor Liz Adair presented her work on how parents’ work identities can be affected by what they share with their children about their professional lives. And associate professors Jenny Kuan and Tim Orme talked about their online educational project, Stock Prof, that explains the stock market in video vignettes. 

Lin said she was encouraged by the way the inaugural event went. 

“We think there’s a huge opportunity to continue this with an annual event,” she said. “My vision is this will become something the entire campus can be involved in.”

The theme of responsibility and social impact, she said, reaches across disciplines. 

“The other piece for me is building that research culture,” Lin said. “We’re all doing research. We just don’t often have the chance to present and talk about it. This could be a great way to show what our college is all about.”