{"id":3011,"date":"2024-12-28T17:31:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T17:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iima.org\/wp\/?page_id=3011"},"modified":"2024-12-28T17:31:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T17:31:48","slug":"iima-in-manchester-2024","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iima.org\/wp\/iima-in-manchester-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"IIMA in Manchester 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 35th annual conference of the IIMA (International Information Management Association \u2013 iima.org) took place at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK September 2-4, 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I had a great time \u2013 reconnecting with \u201cold\u201d friends, meeting new colleagues and learning more about various applications of information systems and using AI to do good in this world\u2026 Here are some of my memories of this conference (and if you want more \u2013 just ask me!):
I arrived in Manchester on Saturday evening \u2013 and who should I meet at the hotel check in desk but Helen \u2013 one of my former students and co-author \u2013 who loves to stay connected with the IIMA. We had a delightful dinner together. Sunday morning I had breakfast with Anand \u2013 who put together a rich and varied program for us. He was so dedicated to the task of putting the final touches on the book of abstracts for the conference that he passed on a free ticket to the Manchester United \/ Liverpool football game that afternoon. Ian had gotten tickets to the football game for Jim and myself (he sent me through the turnstiles first \u2013 in case the ticket QR code was invalid!?) I think the only rain we had during the week was for 15 minutes before the football game when we were in the team store buying footballs to give out as appreciation gifts at the conference. (So much for the myth that it always rains in the UK!) What a memorable experience at a UK football stadium \u2013 lively fans that liked to sing – and cheered every good move their team made (although the local team lost ). Ian had arranged for dinner at the Botanist lounge for those who were in town on Sunday evening. Ramesh made it in time for dinner \u2013 all the way from Chenai including a train from London and a (slow) tram from downtown Manchester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The conference started Monday morning in the modern facilities of the University of Salford \u2013 Media City \u2013 with a view overlooking the city and in the distance Old Trafford. Trevor had AI create not only a poster for the conference but also his welcome speech (he must have been busy with saving people\u2019s lives just before the conference!) There were lots of interesting and thought provoking keynotes and paper presentations \u2013 and I could only attend half of them since there were usually two tracks. Tough choices had to be made. Emmanuel who had just arrived that morning was one of the first presenters. Nerko presented on copyright issues for Dutch musicians\u2026 Jim on identifying customers via their voice\u2026 Manjinder on ethical and unethical uses of AI\u2026 and Alison gave professors ChatGPT resources for use in teaching (too bad I\u2019m retired!). Laurence shared a keynote on ethics and responsible technologies \u2013 and stayed with us throughout the conference. Our conference dinner took place at the Lowry Gallery where we first got a tour and explanation of some of L. S. Lowry\u2019s artwork. Ian had ordered a delicious meal for us with a focus on local specialties including Manchester tarts for dessert. Tuesday started off with a tour of Energy House 2.0. There were two typical English houses inside a building which could simulate various weather conditions (I was hoping they would have started the snow machine while we were there! ). We also got a tour of The North of England Robotics Innovation Centre (NERIC UoS) \u2013 fascinating to see what a variety of robots could do. Back for lunch and then our presentations continued including Prince\u2019s presentation on AI in the legal environment and Richard\u2019s on Global South AI implications. Tanya, Pascal and Ian (experienced academics!) led a very practical session giving career advice for doctoral candidates and younger academics.
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Our IIMA business meeting was chaired by Trevor, our CEO. Pascal was commended for his diligent efforts in managing our two journals and Diana for keeping our website up to date. Various dedicated participants received a Manchester United football. It was announced that next year\u2019s conference \u2013 the 36th Annual Conference of the IIMA will be held at the California State University, San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus – Monday, October 20 \u2013 Wednesday, October 22, 2025. We\u2019ve been there before \u2013 it\u2019s a couple of hours drive from Los Angeles and San Diego, and less than half an hour from Palm Springs, CA. Time to think about submissions and making plans to attend! 35 of us went out to Pizza Express \u2013 more than enough appetizers and pizza for all! Lots of opportunities for good conversation and even planning joint research projects.
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And we got to sing Happy Birthday to Chiara! Wednesday started with a keynote by Darren describing a variety of applications of drones \u2013 including their help in identifying land mines. (Research can be very dangerous!) Ramesh had a wonderful presentation on media and internet censorship in India and Kingsley shared his findings on creating digital policies in Nigeria. Sagwadi introduced her work on comparing cybercrime legislation in South Africa, Nigeria and the UK. Alison, our president, concluded the conference by expressing her appreciation and encouraging us to make plans to attend the next conference. Rick took a group photo with his impressive camera (I think he was the only one there with a \u201creal\u201d camera!) Then most of us walked a couple of blocks to visit the Vodafone 5G Digital Innovation Hub. Fascinating what Vodafone is doing\u2026 What a fabulous conference. Thanks to all who helped put on this conference from our program chairs (Anand assisted by Gloria, Taha, Peter and David), Julian who was our local sponsor, Ian who made most of the local arrangements including finding our keynote speakers, and all of those who shared their research and provided feedback and suggestions\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t wait to see you all in Palm Desert, California next October! Gerhard Steinke <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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