Call for papers
The Faculty of Organizational Studies (Slovenia), University College Limburg (Belgium), and Instituto Universitario de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL, Portugal) are pleased to invite academics, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders to submit abstracts for the online Transform International Interdisciplinary Conference “The Future of Human Workforce”, which will take place fully online on March 27, 2025. The conference is organized within the framework of the CERV Project – Transform: The Future of Human Workforce: Embracing Change, Challenges, and Opportunities. The event will be held in English.
The human workforce is undergoing significant transformations driven by global economic, social, technological, ecological and demographic forces. The interplay of disruptive innovations, resource scarcity, and changing business models is redefining workforce structures, skills, and well-being.
Τhe Transform online conference provides an interdisciplinary platform for to discuss, analyse, and co-create knowledge on the challenges and opportunities arising from the ongoing and future transformations of the human workforce. It aims to explore experiences and strategies to anticipate and adapt to rapidly evolving workforce dynamics, particularly in an era of uncertainty shaped by technological advancements, demographic shifts, digitalization, climate change and post-pandemic realities. The conference also seeks to highlight best practices, identify challenges in labour markets across regions, and explore policy solutions for addressing skill gaps, gender disparities, and workforce well-being. The Transform Conference seeks to provide a forward-looking perspective on addressing workforce challenges and preparing for a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future. We encourage submissions that reflect innovation, critical thinking, and actionable insights!
Conference themes:
- Technological Disruptions and the Workforce
- Digital Skills Gaps and Lifelong Learning
- Green Transition and Sustainable Workforce Development
- Flexible Work Arrangements and Platform-Based Work
- Employee Well-being and Mental Health
- Gender Equality and Workforce Inclusion
- Demographic and Generational Shifts
- Building a Resilient and Inclusive Workforce
- EU Policies and Workforce Development Initiatives
We aim to facilitate a meaningful discussion between the moderator, contributors, and the audience. To achieve this, contributors will be invited to deliver short presentations of approximately 10 minutes, highlighting key outcomes of their research or good practices related to the conference topics. At the end of each session, time will be allocated for discussion. The conference aims to run one session at a time.
We invite abstracts that address empirical and theoretical analyses of workforce transformations, case studies; comparative research across sectors and regions; solutions for emerging challenges.
The conference abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings: Collection of Papers – TRANSFORM International Interdisciplinary Conference 2025.
All submissions will undergo the standard peer-review process.
Advantages of participating in the conference
- Opportunity to publish your work in the conference proceedings
- Hear and discuss the latest interdisciplinary trends, projects and research on the future of work in English
- Opportunity to attend to a panel of invited renown speakers in the topic
- Connect with international researchers and experts
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Important dates
Abstract Submission: until 21 February 2025
Notification of Acceptance of abstracts: until 03 March 2025
Registration deadline: until 20 March 2025 FREE
Abstract submission
Abstract Submission Guidelines (Instructions for authors)
In order to be published in our proceedings all abstracts/papers must be prepared according to instructions for authors.
- Length: Abstracts should be no more than 300 words.
- Language: All abstracts must be written in English.
- Content: Include a clear title, objectives, methods, key findings, and relevance to the conference themes.
- Format: Word document
- Title of the abstract
- Full names and affiliations of all authors
- Contact email of the corresponding author
- Abstract
- Keywords (UP TO 8)
All submissions will undergo a peer-review process. Accepted abstracts will be included in the conference proceedings.
Deadline for abstract submission: 21 February 2025.
Notification of acceptance: 03 March 2025.
Please fill the survey for your participation HERE!
For any inquiries or additional information, please feel free to contact us at transformcervproject@gmail.com. We will respond promptly to assist you.
Keynote speakers
Plenary speakers
Ryszard Praszkier, Ph.D, hab
Alexander F. van Biezen, Ph.D
Dan Podjed
Ryszard Praszkier, Ph.D., hab. (Warsaw, Poland) has authored and co-authored numerous academic publications about social entrepreneurs and the ways they have identified innovative solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Warsaw where he conducts research on peaceful transitions, including social-change processes facilitated by social entrepreneurs. He innovated the concept of perceiving insurmountable challenges as doable (coining the name “possibilitivity” – portmanteau of possible and creativity); also proposed the concept of Peace-Oriented Mindset. Moreover – developed evaluation tools for both.
His recent Cambridge University Press book “Working Wonders: How to Make the Impossible Happen” illustrates how some individuals successfully address seemingly impossible” challenges, and how the reader can follow this path.
Dr. Praszkier has worked for nearly 30 years for Ashoka: Everyone a Changemaker global organization, which empowers social entrepreneurs. He conducted over 200 interviews with social innovators in nearly all continents.
He is a licensed psychotherapist and psychotherapy supervisor.
In the 1980s, Dr. Praszkier participated in the Polish underground peaceful Solidarity Movement and wrote, under a false name, a manual for Solidarity activists titled “How to survive police interrogation.” He later acted as a consultant for Solidarity candidates during Poland’s first free election in 1989.
Alexander F. van Biezen, Ph.D. is a philosopher of science, graduated from the Free University of Brussels-VUB as a Doctor in Philosophy. He specialized in the philosophy of cosmology, with a doctoral dissertation on the cosmological models of Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog. He has additional diplomas in theology and religious studies and in computer science. At first, he worked for a number of years in the IT sector. Then he decided to make a career change and switched to education and academic research. After having worked as a teacher in secondary education, he is now enrolled as a researcher and lecturer at the UCLL University of Applied Sciences in Leuven, Belgium, working on several projects for UCLL’s research center Inclusive Society.
Dan Podjed is a Senior Research Fellow at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and Associate Professor at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts. From the founding of the EASA Applied Anthropology Network in 2010 to 2018, he was its Convenor and continues to serve as one of the network’s Executive Advisors. In 2013 he was the founder and from 2013 to 2018 and again in 2023 the organiser of the international event Why the World Needs Anthropologists, which has become the most important meeting place for applied anthropologists in Europe and beyond. From 2022 to 2023, he was a member of a national team of experts on Covid-19 established by the National Institute of Public Health.
Since 2022, he has been directing a national research programme Ethnological, Anthropological, and Folklore Studies Research on Everyday Life. He has led several national and international research projects (as national coordinator) and participated in numerous EU projects (Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, Creative Europe, etc.). Currently, he is Principal Investigator of the project Isolated People and Communities in Slovenia and Croatia (2022-2025).
In 2019, he published the widely acclaimed book Seen, in which he explains why we are increasingly observed and exposed with the help of smartphones and other devices. In 2020, his book Indoor Anthropology was published, in which he presents to the public how he came to know society and himself during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the book Why the World Needs Anthropologists (Routledge, 2021), he brought together the leading experts in the field to highlight the value of anthropology in today’s world. In 2022, he published an edited volume entitled Invisible Life of Waste, based on a comparative study of waste management habits in households.
He was awarded twice (2013, 2021) for his scientific work under the Excellence in Science programme of the Slovenian Research Agency. In 2023, he received the Spade of the Year award presented by the Večer newspaper.
Access to the conference
If you wish to participate in the online international conference on March 27th, please complete the registration form HERE!
Additional information will be provided to you via email.
Attendance is free for all participants.
The conference will take place from 09:00 to 18:00 CET.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. 101146514