CALL FOR PRESENTATION AND PARTICIPATION

THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008

Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland
At the University System of Maryland Education Center, Hagerstown

Conference Dates: September 25th and 26th, 2008

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite you to participate in the Third Trident Initiative Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship to be held September 25 and 26, 2008, at the University System of Maryland Center, Hagerstown. This conference seeks to promote sharing and exchange of knowledge and ideas in the area of entrepreneurship within our region in a welcoming and supportive setting. Regional economic development and entrepreneurial contribution to economic progress will form the underlying theme for this conference.

We invite faculty, staff, aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs, as well as economic development officials and service providers to submit completed papers, works-in-progress, case studies, proposals for panel discussions, and interactive sessions for the conference. Please email your completed paper or proposal to us at trident@frostburg.edu.

Papers or proposals should be submitted in MS-Word format. We will notify you of the outcome of our review within 2 weeks of your submission. If your proposal or paper is accepted, we will include its final version in the Annual Conference Proceedings to be published on our web site. The top ten (10) submissions presented at the Conference will be awarded $700.00 per submission, to defray the costs of attending a regional or national entrepreneurship conference, such as (but not limited to) the Self-Employment in the Arts (SEA) Conference or the USASBE Conference within six (6) months of this Conference. In order to distribute award money among the largest number of Conference contributors, individual presenters will be eligible to receive a maximum award of $700 per person.

In addition to paper submission, we also invite experts to consider volunteering as paper reviewers, session facilitators, and panel discussion participants. In appreciation of accepted submissions, we will waive the conference registration fee for authors of accepted papers, reviewers, session facilitators, and panel discussion participants.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: July 15, 2008

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR SUBMISSION CONSIDERATION INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING:

1. Strategies for sustainable economic development
2. Financing vehicles used to start up new businesses regionally
3. Availability and potential for expansion of micro-lending in the region
4. Success stories of the region's entrepreneurs
5. Opportunities for regional artists to seek self-employment
6. Social entrepreneurship opportunities
7. The region's inventors and innovators with notable commercialized ideas
8. Regional entrepreneurs with international commerce expertise
9. Innovative teaching methods in entrepreneurship
10. University incubators for technology-based initiatives
11. The role of incubators for artists in economic development
12. Notable economic development initiatives by the region's educational institutions
13. Importance of rural entrepreneurship
14. ` Harnessing regional assets to stimulate economic development
15. Youth entrepreneurship projects
16. Characteristics of the region's entrepreneurs
17. Well-known serial entrepreneurs of the region
18. Technological innovations in entrepreneurship education
19. Artists and craftspeople as the forces of economic development
20. Leadership training for entrepreneurs

Please note that we list the above as only a suggested list of topics that would be relevant and be of interest to conference attendees. Ideas or topics outside the referenced list, as relevant to the field of entrepreneurship and economic development, are also welcome. Given the diverse nature of the audience, an applied focus to your contribution would be most desirable.

For any questions concerning this call, please contact:

Dr. Sudhir Singh
The Trident Initiative at FSU
Frostburg State University
Guild Center Room 009
Frostburg, MD 21532-2303
Phone: (301) 687-4093
Email: ssingh@frostburg.edu

or

Dr. Martha Mattare
College of Business
Frostburg State University at USMH
32 W. Washington Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Phone: (240) 527-2747
Email: mmattare@frostburg.edu