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Dear colleagues,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Department of Public Administration and Management at Babes-Bolyai University will host the 6<\/span>th<\/span> edition of the <\/span>Transylvanian International Conference in Public Administration <\/span><\/i>from <\/span>3<\/b>rd<\/b> to 5<\/b>th<\/b> October 2024<\/b>, an event envisioned to bring together academics, researchers and practitioners in the field of public administration from all over the world and to create the framework in which they can exchange ideas, disseminate best practices and develop networking opportunities for future teaching, research, and capacity building\u00a0 projects.<\/span><\/p>\n The overarching topic for 2024 is<\/span> fostering local and regional innovation through partnerships, with an emphasis on the role of universities<\/i><\/b>. <\/b>In the last three decades, the role and functions of universities worldwide have undergone a significant transformation process. From basic functions such as teaching and research, the role of universities has evolved to include economic initiatives geared toward profit generation, policy development, knowledge transfer, etc. Concepts such as the \u2018engaged university\u2019, \u2018multiversity\u2019 or \u2018university as a complex enterprise\u2019 all encompass this transformative process and have received their fair share of scrutiny from academics and practitioners. More recently, the role of universities is discussed within the framework of local innovation ecosystems where they interact with, evolve\/grow and coproduce innovation alongside and\/or in partnership with the other relevant actors in these ecosystems. <\/span>There is currently EU-wide recognition of the changing role of universities. In 2022 we had the first European Strategy dedicated to universities. A significant dimension is that the Strategy recognizes the changing role of universities and the importance of them being active actors within local innovation networks. The European strategy for universities emphasizes how universities should be the central nodes of local innovation systems and use a living lab approach \u2013 piloting public solutions\/policies in a real context and generating them through co-design with beneficiaries.<\/span><\/p>\n The conference is focused on critically discussing and analyzing <\/span>characteristics and dynamics of local innovation systems, on defining local and locality in relation to existing cities and communities, and more importantly on assessing how universities enter into and interact with the other actors in the local networks whose interactions initialize, stimulate and diffuse economically useful knowledge. Local innovation systems and the role of universities within them can be examined from a variety of perspectives, including power relations and negotiation, communication and marketing, strategic planning, and leadership studies, etc. Our conference welcomes all these perspectives as we strive to explore this topic through the contributions coming from different academic fields.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One day workshop for PhD students<\/b> in public administration and connected fields will be organized in connection with the main conference. It will take place on <\/span>October 2<\/b>nd<\/b>, 2024<\/b>. PhD students, both domestic and from the partner universities abroad, are encouraged to participate with or without a paper. In addition to the presentations of the best research proposals, several lectures by international professors will be provided to the attending participants.<\/span><\/p>\n The language for papers and presentations is English<\/b>. In addition to English speaking panels, <\/span>the conference will include a panel in Hungarian<\/b>. The conference main topic applies for the Hungarian panel as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is <\/span>no participation fee for those presenting a paper in the main conference<\/b>. Coffee breaks, lunches and dinners are provided free of charge for all participants by the local organizers on the 2 days of the conference (3<\/span>rd<\/span> and 4<\/span>th<\/span> October 2024). In addition, the social event organized on October 5<\/span>th<\/span>, 2024, after the closing of the conference, is also sponsored by the local organizers for all interested participants in the conference.<\/span><\/p>\n