Leaving the Ivory Tower: From Academic Knowledge to Real-World Impact

The DocNet Symposium in 2022 marked the 20^th DocNet Symposium and took place in HSG’s new learning center, the so-called “Square”, on November 11. The topic was “[Self-]Leadership in Times of Crises” since these ears have been exceptional complex for societies around the world such as facing a global pandemic or, e.g., the war in Ukraine. The goal was to summarize potential learnings from individuals in three contexts talks: a corporate, a political/governmental and an individual context.

Is intelligence reserved for us humans and limited to our minds? According to the “Oxford Dictionary”, intelligence describes the ability of human beings to think abstractly and rationally and to derive purposeful action from this. For a long time, however, not only classical terms such as comprehension, cleverness or the ability of reasoning have been associated with intelligence.

The 19th DocNet Symposium addressed the central question: what is intelligence? We wanted to shed light onto different types of intelligence and define their relevance for our working world and beyond. To this end, we intended to consider different perspectives: What does research say about this topic? What kind of demands do companies have in this area? And what insights can we derive for ourselves personally?

The 18th DocNet symposium was centered around the theme: Thriving in Chaos – How to Master Adverse Situations.

We live in a world of increasing globalization and digitalization, characterized by constant change and uncertainty. The recent pandemic has demonstrated just how fragile the global construct has become, inflicting chaos upon each and every one of us. How things will develop in the future is uncertain and at best ambiguous. One thing is for certain, however: it is not the first time we witness such chaos and it definitely will not be the last.

Often students and professionals face questions in their careers such as: Why am I doing this? Is it truly worth it? Wouldn’t it be simpler just to quit? Yet often in life it is our own motivation, purpose and passion that pushes us forward and allows us to persevere even when giving up seems to be the simplest solution. As John. F Kennedy said, “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction”. The 17th DocNet symposium was centered around the theme: Motivation – What makes you get out of bed each morning?

We often hear people complain that there either is not enough or too much time. We easily run out of time when we enjoy ourselves or when we must meet this urgent deadline. On the contrary, clocks seem to stand still when we wait for a train outside in wintertime. Einstein himself probably described this inherent relativity of time best: “When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute – and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity.”