REGIONAL EVENTS
Conference WRITER: Rafal Domański CEMS Club Warsaw
V4 Conference business issues in the heart of Europe It was in Visegrad – a small town in the north of Hungary – in the XIVth century that the idea of Central European cooperation was born. Over 600 years after the first Visegrad summit, the Visegrad Group (abbreviated V4) unites the region, being now an alliance of four countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. At the very beginning of the 2011 spring semester, the CEMS Community gathered in Warsaw to discuss the business issues of the region for the first edition of the V4 Conference, the latest addition to the annual roster of CEMS Regional Events. Participants were guided through the whole way of understanding the idea of competitiveness, focusing strongly on the CEE countries. The scientific journey started with a macroeconomic
lecture provided by Mr. Mark Allen (the IMF Senior Resident Representative for CEE). Then, the group workshop sessions and discussion panel helped us better understand the measures of competitiveness and business in the “Heart of Europe”.
“As a Scandinavian, I joined the V4 to broaden my limited knowledge on the challenges that multinational corporations are facing in Central Europe. The seminars prepared by SGH professors and KONE definitely lived up to my expectations. V4 was very well executed and has great potential for the future,” Erik Rehbinder (CBS) Obviously, the V4 Conference was not only hard academic work. Networking activities such as dinners with the regional cuisine, visiting Chopin’s Museum and the crowning of the meeting – a huge carnival ball in the Palace of Culture and Science in the centre of Warsaw - let us enjoy our time in a less formal atmosphere as well. The V4 Conference was a very special event for all of us. With the support of Corvinus University in Budapest, VSE in Prague and our guest academic partner – University of Economics in Bratislava - we not only got to know more about the CEE region, but also managed to share experiences and create bonds. The next edition of the conference - Budapest 2012!
CEMS Club Warsaw members and event organisers Karol Górnowicz and Rafal Domański
"We've already started working on the project. Lots of new ideas and a motivated team – that all makes me believe it will be a great meeting." David Szeles, CC Budapest President Mr. Mark Allen, IMF Senior Resident Representative for CEE
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