‘The Digitalization of Work and Life’ conference to be held March 21 and 22

Faculty from the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business are hosting “The Digitalization of Work and Life: Managing People and Organizations Up Close and at a Distance” conference March 21 and 22 on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.

This research-to-practice conference includes notable scholars and business thought leaders who, along with emerging scholars, explore the impact digital technology is having on work and life. Researchers will share insights on optimizing work cultures for positive employee and organizational effectiveness, while industry leaders will share best practices and lessons learned from their own digital transformation experiences. 

The conference will kick off with an industry-student panel preconference event at 5 p.m. March 20 called “The Future of Technology and Work: Company and Student Perspectives.” Students from the Larsen Leaders Academy and the master’s program in human resource management will engage with a panel of corporate experts including:

• Cristi Tobelmann, senior vice president of HR, DaySmart Software.
• Sabrina Wilson, senior vice president, dormakaba Americas.
• Michael Mojica, managing partner for strategic transformation, IBM Consulting, Americas.
• Patrick Lenihan, associate vice president of business transformation, Eli Lilly and Co.

These corporate leaders will also participate on research-to-practice panels during the main conference with several academic speakers touching on a variety of topics:

• N. Sharon Hill, George Washington University, on virtual leadership tensions in hybrid work.
• Jennifer Gibbs, University of California, Santa Barbara, on boundary management with global teams and remote work arrangements.
• Terri Griffith, Simon Fraser University, on artificial intelligence and saving jobs.
• Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, University of Quebec in Montreal, on digital regulation.

Lori Nishiura Mackenzie from Stanford University will discuss “Inclusion as a Driver of Effectiveness in Virtual Teams” at the capstone dinner event moderated by Stacey Connaughton from the Purdue Policy Research Institute.

In addition to keynotes from academia and industry, over 40 scholarly contributions of research in progress will be presented by Purdue scholars and attendees traveling to campus from throughout the United States and abroad including Scotland, Colombia, Japan, Israel, Canada, South Korea and Indonesia. 

Registration starts at $99 for academics and alumni. Invited students from the Daniels School of Business can attend the preconference event for free. To register or view the full schedule and list of speakers, please visit the conference website or contact Ellen Ernst Kossek at ekossek@purdue.edu or Brad Alge at algeb@purdue.edu.