ACERE Conference

ACERE stands for Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange, an annual conference in its 11^th year. Initiated by Professor Murray Gillin AM and inspired by the Babson College Entrepreneurship Conference (BCEC) in the United States, these conferences were organised annually by Swinburne University (and co-hosts around Australia and New Zealand) under the label “AGSE IERE” (2004-2011). Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) has produced the ACERE Conference since 2012.

The 2014 Conference was held at UNSW Sydney, Australia, from 4 to 7 February 2014.

History – 2004 to 2013

Originating from attendance at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference (USA), the first AGSE-Babson College Regional Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Exchange Conference was held at Swinburne University of Technology in 2004. At this first iteration of ACERE, 87 Papers were presented during the two days of exchange sessions representing 45% from Australia, 25% from New Zealand, and 30% from the rest of the world, particularly Europe and UK. Following the Babson model, the proceedings of the Exchange were published in “Regional Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research” – 33 papers published in full along with 53 extended summaries.

In late 2004 and with Babson College no longer partnering with Swinburne’s Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) to facilitate the regional entrepreneurship research conference, the name be changed to the AGSE Entrepreneurship Research Exchange and was later known as AGSE-ERE.

Following invitations to interested academic schools, the committee for the 2005 conference included: Queensland University of Technology; University of South Australia; Swinburne University of Technology; RMIT University; University of Western Australia; UNITEC New Zealand; Massey University New Zealand; Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

The 2005 conference was again held at AGSE with 91 papers presented and a PhD consortium. A new initiative was the inclusion of international keynote speakers who reviewed opportunities for entrepreneurship research.

The 2006 AGSE-ERE was held in Auckland, New Zealand and jointly sponsored by UNITEC and Massey Universities.

Subsequent AGSE-ERE conferences were hosted by Queensland University of Technology, 2007; Swinburne University of Technology, 2008; University of Adelaide, 2009; University of the Sunshine Coast, 2010; and Swinburne University of Technology in 2011.

In 2011, responsibility and management of the AGSE-ERE was transferred to the Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) at Queensland University of Technology under the chair of Professor Per Davidsson and under the new name “ACERE”. ACERE stands for “Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Exchange” thus marking the continuity with its predecessor.

ACE has continued the tradition of partnering with other universities to deliver the conference in a different location annually, with the 2012 conference in Perth, at the University of Western Australia, 2013 in Brisbane, at Queensland University of Technology, and 2014 in Sydney at UNSW, Australia. The 2015 conference location has been announced and will be in Adelaide at the University of Adelaide.

2014

Professor Murray Gillin AM presented an “Historical Perspctive on AGSE-ERE/ACERE Entreprepreneurship Research Exchange Conference and its Antecedents” at the 2014 Conference. Of copy of this presentation can be found here.

The 2015 ACERE Conference will be held at the University of Adelaide from 3 to 6 February 2015. Information on the 2015 Conference will be available soon. Register your interest in the ACERE Conference or Read and contribute to the ACE BLOG.