1) Pre Conference Workshop
Demo of The Triple Connection: Sustainable Business simulation
Tuesday, July 1 2025, 9:00 – 10:30 (GMT+2) Time in Sofia, Bulgaria
Igor Lopes Martinez
Linkedin; https://www.linkedin.com/in/
igor.lopesmartinez@gmail.com
During this guided session:
- You will get an interactive demonstration of the simulator and its functions.
- You will experience how this simulator can add value to your course or training.
- You will discover the great didactic impact of game-based learning and an integrated learning approach.
- You’ll learn how to get started in the business game at the core of this learning solution.
About the Learning Solution: Create a Sustainable Business
From cocoa farmers to retailers! The Triple Connection finds its roots in the cacao industry and follows the path to create maximum value in its sustainable value chain. This kind of value creation requires multiple high-level roles to align on the concept of the 3Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity!
The Triple Connection focuses on the critical and trending topic of sustainability and offers learners the opportunity to experience the challenges of managing sustainability trade-offs across all three ‘P’ pillars: People, Planet, and Prosperity – all while working with a limited budget. The game covers 13 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, providing a comprehensive overview of sustainability-related issues that organizations face in the real world.
With this learning solution, participants:
- Will make sustainability measurable and learn how to apply a sustainable transformation strategy.
- Will prioritize sustainability actions and know the advantages and disadvantages of sustainability.
- Will focus on choosing a strategic direction to optimize sustainability and maximize value.
- Will practice rapid decision making and learn the importance of cross-functional alignment.
Advantages of experiential learning:
- Highly Engaging
- Constant & immediate feedback
- Higher Learning Retention Rate
- Ability to apply theory to practice
- Real-world experience minus the risk
- Promotion of teamwork and soft skills
- Cost-effective
About Inchainge
Inchainge’s game-based learning solutions have a global reach, being used by over 700 universities and many of the most successful companies in the world. Our immersive business simulation games – The Fresh Connection, The Cool Connection, The Blue Connection, and The Triple Connection – offer a unique learning approach that puts participants at the center of a real-world virtual learning environment. Learners are immersed in these life-like experiences which accelerate their professional development and career readiness.
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2) Meet the Authors
Tuesday July 1st 16:00 – 17.30 Sofia Time
Darlene Russ-Eft (convenor) and colleagues
Professor Darlene Russ-Eft would like to invite you to participate in the Meet the
Authors event at the upcoming 2025 TAKE conference in Sofia.
What:
Meet the Authors gives published book authors or co-authors the opportunity to display and discuss their books with readers in an informal setting.
Where:
The Meet the Authors session is taking place during a special session the TAKE conference.
When: Tuesday July 1st 16:00 – 17.30 Sofia Time Participating authors are asked to arrive by 15 minutes prior to the session.
Please provide complete the following information:
1. Full name of author as you wish it to appear on the sign at your table
2. Contact information (email and phone) for author
3. Title, year, and publisher of each book that you wish to display
RSVP to drusseft@purdue.edu
by Friday June 7!
3) Workshop – Radwan Kharabsheh – Mitigating Knowledge Hiding in Organizations: Ethical Culture, Spiritual Wisdom and Cooperative Strategies Tuesday 17.30 Sofia Time
4) Art Session Gallery of Art – by fellow artists Dr Peter Sharp, Karen Dix and Blazenka Knezevic – Sofia time July 2nd 14:30 to 15:30
5)KM Changer convened by Vincent Ribiere Sofia time July 2nd 16:00 to 17;30
Step into the Role of a KM Manager in this Engaging Serious Game.
A maximum of 10 participants may register for this session here:
https://forms.gle/9T5n6xWJjFYTRDdL7
In an organization represented on the game board, a new Knowledge Management (KM) policy is being implemented with ambitious objectives over a three-year period. The newly appointed Knowledge Manager team must carry out this mission. Their goal is to capture the knowledge of the 40 employees (represented as game pieces on the board).
However, they will face multiple challenges: some pieces escape the board as knowledge dissipates, some employees resist the KM policy, and others are poached by competing companies. This creates a race against time.
In addition, 70 action cards influence the game, altering the course of events—some benefiting KM efforts, while others contribute to a “brain drain.”
Will the Knowledge Manager succeed in their mission? What strategy should they adopt to at least secure the most critical skills? These are the challenges participants will experience in this game.
6)Workshop – Stacy McCracken Innovative Minds in an AI World: Practical Strategies for Growth and Impact Sofia time July 2nd 17;30
Purpose
Organizations must look beyond technology skills and cultivate a collaborativeecosystem to address its most pressing challenges (Chew & Mohamed Zainal, 2024). Looking to the future, focusing on developing human skills, leadership, a culture of innovation, and the strategic use of AI is essential (Chowdhury et al., 2022). This session addresses the growing need to equip employees, leaders, and organizations with innovative thinking, adaptability, and growth mindset, known as durable skills. The session introduces the
N.O.T.I.C.E. Framework, a tool designed to help professionals observe opportunities, ask better questions, and embrace experimentation to help foster innovative thinking. By integrating Generative AI (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT, this session provides actionable strategies for fostering growth mindsets, enhancing problem-solving, and driving innovation in teams and organizations.
Design/Methodology/Approach
The session blends insights from original research on innovative thinking, growth mindset, and growth interest in AI (McCracken, 2024) with practical, hands-on activities applying the N.O.T.I.C.E. Framework. Building on everyday examples, the participants will explore how the framework can be applied to improve coaching, enhance questioning ability, drive creative problem-solving, and boost engagement. Additionally, GenAI tools like ChatGPT will be showcased as practical aids to support curiosity, questioning, and experimentation. This interactive session blends practical tools, real-world examples, and audience engagement to bridge theory and practice.
Theoretical Base
Organizations must innovate to remain competitive in today’s complex, global environment (Middermann & Rashid, 2019; Morad et al., 2021), and people are key to ongoing innovation and innovative thinking. As leaders are expected to lead teams of multiple generations and diverse cultural backgrounds, they require an expanding set of skills and abilities to succeed in today’s global business environment (Charas & Lupushor, 2022). In two separate studies of mid-career development, Mok et al. (2021) and Mahapatra and Dash (2021) found that development opportunities are not readily available to all working professionals, with mid-career professionals often being overlooked, which can be detrimental to long-term organizational success. Through a review of mindset literature, Jeanes (2021) identified growth mindset as a critical skill for leaders in a rapidly changing world. Jeanes discussed the use of mindset skills training with leaders to strengthen analysis, collaboration, and reflection skills. Early research from Bieser (2023) and Eapen et al. (2023) into GenAI suggested that GenAI can promote divergent thinking, often used as a substitute term for innovative thinking (Morad et al., 2021), and collaborate with humans to support association, experimentation, and questioning. The session builds on established theories of growth mindset (Dweck, 2016), innovative thinking (Barak et al., 2020), and interest development (O’Keefe et al., 2020). It connects these theories to modern challenges, such as AI adoption and global workforce adaptability. Building on the recommendation of Passig and Cohen (2014) that more effort needs to be made to train individuals to develop and enhance innovative thinking skills, the N.O.T.I.C.E. Framework emphasizes innovative thinking’s components of observation, questioning, and experimentation and aligns with Watkins & Marsick’s (2020) informal learning theories. Results Participants will leave with: · A deeper knowledge of how growth mindset, growth interests, observation, questioning, and experimentation fuel innovative thinking. · A clear understanding of how to apply the N.O.T.I.C.E. Framework to enhance innovative thinking and problem-solving. · Confidence in crafting AI prompts and conducting small-scale experiments with tools like ChatGPT. · A personalized action plan for implementing these tools to enhance creativity, engagement, and adaptability. Expected outcomes include improved individual engagement, increased innovative thinking, and stronger leadership practices. These results align with research findings that individual’s with a high growth mindset combined with a high growth interest in AI have demonstrate higher innovative thinking than those low in both.
Originality/Value
This session is unique in bridging research on growth mindset and innovative thinking with an actionable, easy-to-implement framework tailored for practitioners. Unlike theoretical discussions, the session focuses on practical application and provides tools participants can immediately use and adapt to foster a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and innovation. The integration of GenAI tools as part of the framework offers a modern, forward-looking perspective on leadership in the knowledge economy and provides participants with the opportunity to discover first-hand how AI can work alongside humans to spur innovative thinking and improve productivity.
Practical Implications
As organizations seek ways to enhance their innovation capabilities or expand their integration of new GenAI tools, they will need to ensure that they prioritize building an interest first to help make the learning stick. According to Han and Stieha (2020), individuals with a growth mindset are more effective at transferring knowledge into practice after training. From a development perspective, if an organization wants to boost the effectiveness of training, acceptance of digital transformation, or transition to AI tools, all likely designed to improve the competitiveness of the organization, then a willingness to take on challenges and learn, often associated with growth mindset and growth interests, are essential for long-term organizational success. For organizations striving to improve competitiveness, integrate artificial intelligence tools, develop existing and emerging leaders, and harness the power of their workforce for innovation and problem-solving, this session will spark curiosity and inspire confidence in how to get started. This session provides immediate, actionable tools for: · Leaders and HR professionals: Developing growth mindsets in teams and fostering a culture of curiosity and innovation. · Instructional designers and educators: Using AI tools to enhance training programs and adapt to learners’ needs. · Organizations: Encouraging informal learning and experimentation to drive engagement and problem-solving. This session offers an interdisciplinary appeal providing relevant background, tools, and frameworks to help practitioners focus on pressing global challenges including upskilling, reskilling, AI transformation, and improved engagement. Changing employees’ mindsets concerning new technologies is paramount to leveraging AI, new technologies, and innovation. Individuals must be open to new areas of interest and embrace continuous learning to take full advantage of future technological changes and apply new thinking to innovate. With research on AI in the early stages, understanding how interest in AI impacts innovative thinking and its relationship to a growth mindset offers insights for education, teaching, skills development (questioning and experimenting), and effective digital or AI transformation.
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7) Knowledge Café – Thursday Jule 3rd 15:00
An informal and specifically organized discussion of the Conference Main Themes convened by Eduardo Tomé