Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre
Welcome Pack 15 – 16 June 2026 Cambridge
Global Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Conference

GEIRC
2026

Navigating uncertainty: building resilient ventures and innovation ecosystems in a fragmented world.

Dates Monday 15 – Tuesday 16 June 2026
Venues King's College · Cambridge Judge Business School
Hosted by Cambridge Judge
Entrepreneurship Centre
University of Cambridge
King's College Chapel, Cambridge — frontal view of the west façade
King's College Chapel · the gathering's anchor Photograph: Martinvl · CC BY-SA 4.0
Conference Theme · 2026

Navigating uncertainty: building resilient ventures and innovation ecosystems in a fragmented world.

Rising geopolitical tensions, trade conflicts, technological decoupling and macroeconomic volatility are fundamentally reshaping the landscape for innovation and entrepreneurship. GEIRC 2026 brings together leading scholars to develop the ideas — and the evidence — that will help ventures, investors and institutions navigate what comes next.

Convened byCambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre
Held inCambridge
No. 02 — At a glance

The two days, side by side.

A condensed view of the programme. Detailed session listings, papers and discussants follow on the day pages.

Day 1 — Monday 15 June

King's College · Audit Room
08:45 – 10:15
Walking Science TourMeet outside Fitzbillies, Trumpington Street
10:15 – 10:45
Arrivals & registrationKing's College — Audit Room
10:45 – 11:15
Welcome & Opening Keynote — Gillian Tett
11:15 – 12:45
Session 1 — VC & Entrepreneurial Finance
12:45 – 13:45
LunchKing's College
13:45 – 14:45
Session 2 — Cognition, Identity & Evaluation
14:45 – 15:15
Coffee
15:15 – 16:45
Session 3 — Talent, Migration & Geography
16:45 – 17:00
Day 1 wrap
19:00
College dinner — St Catharine's College

Day 2 — Tuesday 16 June

CJBS · Fadi Boustany Lecture Theatre
08:30 – 09:00
Arrivals & coffeeFadi Boustany Lecture Theatre
09:00 – 10:00
Keynote — Jeff McMullen
10:00 – 10:30
CoffeeCJBS
10:30 – 10:45
USPTO Patent Dataset — Pedro Matos15 minutes, no discussion
10:45 – 11:45
Session 4 — Innovation, IP & Technology
11:45 – 12:45
LunchCJBS
12:45 – 14:15
Session 5 — Digital Innovation & Hybrid Contexts
14:15 – 14:45
Coffee
14:45 – 16:15
Session 6 — Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
16:15 – 17:00
Closing remarks & farewell
No. 03 — Detailed programme

Day 1 — Monday 15 June

King's College, Audit Room · Cambridge

Welcome & Opening Keynote · 30 minutes

Gillian Tett

Editor at Large, Financial Times;
Provost, King's College, Cambridge

When
Monday 15 June · 10:45 – 11:15
Where
King's College — Audit Room
Format
30-minute address & conference welcome

Gillian Tett opens the conference with a 30-minute keynote and welcome.

Session 01

VC & Entrepreneurial Finance

Mon · 11:15 – 12:45Chair: Po-Hsuan Hsu (NTHU)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
11:15 – 11:45 The Lifecycle of Venture Capital Funds Osnat ZoharBank of Israel Thomas HellmannOxford Saïd
11:45 – 12:15 Venture Capital Risk: Trading off Breakthrough Innovation and Fundraising Frictions Jeremias HuberIFC / World Bank Panos MarkouDarden
12:15 – 12:45 Technological Life Cycles: Investment, Growth, and Firm ValuePresented on behalf of Xiyue Li. Jan BenaUBC Logan EmeryRSM Erasmus
Session 02

Cognition, Identity & Evaluation

Mon · 13:45 – 14:45Chair: Monique Boddington (Cambridge)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
13:45 – 14:15 Evaluation-in-the-Wild: Explaining the Processes and Consequences of Evaluative Drift Sara MahabadiAlberta Ute StephanKing's College London
14:15 – 14:45 One Diagnosis or Two? Investigating Cognitive Overload and Stress in Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs Kim KlyverSouthern Denmark Deniz UcbasaranWarwick
Session 03

Talent, Migration & Geography

Mon · 15:15 – 16:45Chair: Jeff York (Colorado Boulder)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
15:15 – 15:45 The Uneven Geography of Startup Talent Diffusion David HsuWharton Isabell WelpeTUM
15:45 – 16:15 Chasing Unicorns: Are Immigrant-Founded Startups More Likely to Break the Billion-Dollar Barrier? Anavir ShermonUT Dallas David HsuWharton
16:15 – 16:45 MNE Experience Fosters Innovative Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China Xiaohan YangCUHK Mike LenoxDarden
St Catharine's College — Main Court
Day 1 closes with

College Dinner — St Catharine's

A formal dinner in the Senior Combination Room.

When
Monday 15 June · 19:00
Where
St Catharine's College, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RL
Attire
Smart casual
On arrival
Please make your way to the Porters' Lodge on Trumpington Street; a member of staff will direct you to the Hall.
No. 04 — Detailed programme

Day 2 — Tuesday 16 June

Cambridge Judge Business School, Fadi Boustany Lecture Theatre

Keynote · 60 minutes

Jeff McMullen

Professor of Entrepreneurship,
Imperial Business School

When
Tuesday 16 June · 09:00 – 10:00
Where
CJBS — Fadi Boustany Lecture Theatre
Format
60-minute address with audience Q&A

Jeff McMullen delivers the Day 2 keynote with audience Q&A.

Special presentation

USPTO Patent Dataset — an open resource for innovation research

Tue · 10:30 – 10:4515 minutes · no discussion
TimeTopicSpeakerFormat
10:30 – 10:45 The USPTO Patent Dataset: An Open Resource for Innovation Research Pedro MatosDarden 15 minutesNo formal discussion
Session 04

Innovation, IP & Technology

Tue · 10:45 – 11:45Chair: Mike Lenox (Darden)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
10:45 – 11:15 Intellectual Property Protection for AI-Generated Output Logan EmeryRSM Erasmus Elena NovelliBayes
11:15 – 11:45 Do Technology Clusters Distort Innovation? Benjamin BalsmeierLuxembourg Po-Hsuan HsuNTHU
Session 05

Digital Innovation & Hybrid Contexts

Tue · 12:45 – 14:15Chair: Matthew Grimes (Cambridge)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
12:45 – 13:15 Disruptive Translation: Launching Nigeria's "First Fully Digital Bank" Lucy CainesCambridge JBS Markos ZachariadisManchester
13:15 – 13:45 Ventures' Pursuit of Product-Market Fit in Nascent Ecosystems: Evidence from Digital Health Shi Ying LimNUS Amy Zhao-DingUC Irvine
13:45 – 14:15 The Global Diffusion of Oppositional Certifications: Evidence from the B Corp Certification Movement Marie Van HauwaertAntwerp Jeff YorkBoulder
Session 06

Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Tue · 14:45 – 16:15Chair: Panos Markou (Darden)
TimePaperPresenterDiscussant
14:45 – 15:15 University Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Under Dual Commitments Jason RoncancioRSM Erasmus Markus PerkmannImperial
15:15 – 15:45 From Tent to House: Dynamics of Sustaining Innovation Ecosystems Beyond Crisis Sreevas SahasranamamGlasgow Matthew GrimesCambridge
15:45 – 16:15 Orchestrating Socially Oriented Innovation Ecosystems: A Phased Approach to Integrating State Actors Kyeyoung ShinOxford Saïd Monique BoddingtonCambridge
No. 05 — Venues & logistics

Where to be, and when.

All conference venues, the dinner venue, the walking-tour start point and the recommended hotel sit within a ten-minute walk of one another in central Cambridge.

King's College Chapel and the Gibbs' Building, viewed from the Backs
Day 1 · Conference venue

King's College — Audit Room

King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1ST

The Audit Room is a historic seminar space within King's College. Please present yourself at the Porters' Lodge on King's Parade on arrival; staff will direct you.

Arrivals
10:15 – 10:45 (Mon)
Sessions
Keynote · Session 1 · Session 2 · Session 3
Cambridge Judge Business School — interior atrium
Day 2 · Conference venue

Cambridge Judge — Fadi Boustany Lecture Theatre

Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1AG

Please enter via the main CJBS reception on Trumpington Street and check in at the front desk on arrival.

Arrivals
08:30 – 09:00 (Tue)
Sessions
Keynote · USPTO · Sessions 4–6
Cavendish Laboratory — entrance with Cambridge shield
Optional · Day 1 morning

Walking Science Tour

Meeting point: outside Fitzbillies, 52 Trumpington Street

A guided walking tour of Cambridge's scientific landmarks, hosted ahead of the formal opening on Day 1. The tour ends in time for arrivals at King's College for the 10:45 keynote.

When
Mon 15 June · 08:45 – 10:15
University Arms Hotel — Regency portico on Regent Street
Recommended · Conference hotel

University Arms Hotel

Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AD

Cambridge's most centrally located historic hotel and the conference hotel for GEIRC 2026.

To CJBS
5-minute walk
To King's
10-minute walk
To St Cath's
7-minute walk
No. 06 — Getting to Cambridge

By air, rail and road.

For most international delegates we recommend flying into London Stansted (STN), London Heathrow (LHR), or London Gatwick (LGW), then continuing by rail.

By rail

  • Stansted (STN)Direct trains to Cambridge run roughly every 30 minutes (~30-minute journey).
  • Heathrow / GatwickTravel to London Liverpool Street or King's Cross and connect to Cambridge.
    Liverpool Street ~1 hr 15 min · King's Cross ~50 min.
  • Central LondonKing's Cross → Cambridge — frequent service, ~50 minutes.

By taxi or private car

  • From Heathrow~1 hr 45 min by road (traffic dependent).
  • From Stansted~45 min by road.
  • Local · CambridgePanther Taxis — +44 1223 715715.

Within Cambridge

  • On footAll conference venues, the dinner venue, the walking-tour start point and the University Arms Hotel sit within a ten-minute walk of each other.
No. 07 — Attendees

The room, in alphabetical order.

Thirty-six scholars from twenty-eight institutions across the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

Listed alphabetically by first name. All affiliations as supplied by the delegate.
Amy Zhao-Ding
University of California, Irvine
Anavir Shermon
University of Texas at Dallas
Benjamin Balsmeier
University of Luxembourg
David Hsu
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Deniz Ucbasaran
Warwick Business School
Elena Novelli
Bayes Business School, City St George's, University of London
Gillian Tett
Editor at Large, Financial Times; Provost, King's College, Cambridge
Hsiao-Hui Lee
National Chengchi University
Isabell Welpe
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Jan Bena
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
Jason Roncancio
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Jeff McMullen
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Imperial Business School
Jeff York
University of Colorado Boulder
Jeremias Huber
International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
Kim Klyver
University of Southern Denmark
Krithika Randhawa
University of Sydney Business School
Kyeyoung Shin
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Logan Emery
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Lucy Caines
Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
Marie Van Hauwaert
University of Antwerp
Markos Zachariadis
Alliance Manchester Business School
Markus Perkmann
Imperial Business School
Matthew Grimes
Cambridge Judge Business School
Mike Lenox
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Monique Boddington
Cambridge Judge Business School
Osnat Zohar
Bank of Israel
Panos Markou
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Pedro Matos
Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Po-Hsuan Hsu
National Tsing Hua University
Sara Mahabadi
University of Alberta
Shi Ying Lim
National University of Singapore
Sophie Harbour
King's College, Cambridge
Sreevas Sahasranamam
University of Glasgow
Thomas Hellmann
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Ute Stephan
King's Business School, King's College London
Xiaohan Yang
Chinese University of Hong Kong
No. 08 — Connect

Questions ahead of the conference?

For any questions or concerns in the lead-up to the conference, please contact the conference convenor directly.

Conference convenor

Matthew Grimes

Cambridge Judge Business School

m.grimes@jbs.cam.ac.uk
© 2026 Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre, University of Cambridge Cambridge · 15 – 16 June 2026
Image credits King's College Chapel (cover hero) — Martinvl, CC BY-SA 4.0 · King's College from the Backs — James Brierly, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cambridge Judge Business School interior — Cmglee, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cavendish Laboratory entrance — Anna L Martin, CC BY 2.0 · St Catharine's College Main Court — Roger Kidd, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The University Arms Hotel — Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 · All sourced via Wikimedia Commons.

All information correct at the time of going to press.