PRME Chapter UK & Ireland Conference 2026: A first timer's account
The Blog & Knowledge Exchange Hub showcases the ideas, innovations, collaborations and experiences that are helping to advance responsible management education, sustainability and societal impact across our community. As a Chapter, PRME UK & Ireland works to support higher education institutions in embedding responsible management education and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while fostering collaboration, innovation and the sharing of good practice across our network.
In this blog, we share a first-time attendee's experience of engaging with the PRME UK & Ireland community and the insights gained from that journey.
About the authors
Dr Christoph Naborowski is a Senior Lecturer on the BSc Business and MSc Events Management programmes at Ravensbourne University London, where he also serves as the institution's inaugural PRME Lead. Cristina Iodice is a Senior Lecturer on the MSc Marketing programme, and Sein Tin is a Lecturer and Year Lead on the BSc Business Management programme at Ravensbourne University London. For further information, please contact Christoph at c.naborowski@rave.ac.uk.
PRME Chapter UK & Ireland Conference 2026: A first timer's account
By Dr Christoph Naborowski, Cristina Iodice, and Sein Tin
The 2026 PRME Chapter UK & Ireland Conference was held in Bath and hosted by the University of Bath School of Management, from 23rd to 26rd June 2026. Responsible Management Education is at the heart of this conference, with a particular emphasis on the vital role educators play in developing future global and responsible leaders. Through insightful keynote presentations, panel discussions and research presentations covering a wide range of topics, the conference explored sustainability, ethics and the shared social responsibility of all stakeholders, which included both business leaders and educators.
With the UK experiencing its second heatwave of the year and new temperature records being set, the conference was directly impacted as several participants had to cancel or cut-short their attendance due to health concerns and travel disruptions.
The timing made conversations around sustainability and responsibility particularly relevant.
With an early 5:00 a.m. start to beat the heat and avoid potential travel disruption later in the day, a delegation from one of the newest members of the PRME UK & Ireland Chapter, Ravensbourne University London, made their way to Bath. Ravensbourne became a PRME signatory in October 2025. Colleagues Cristina Iodice, Sein Tin and Dr Christoph Naborowski (Ravensbourne's PRME Lead) were excited to join Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Chair of the PRME UK & Ireland Chapter, and present their research over the two days of the main conference.
Dr Kellie Vincent, Executive Dean for the School of Business, Management and Commerce at Ravensbourne University London, said:
I’m incredibly proud to see our Ravensbourne colleagues playing such an active role in the PRME community. Their passion and commitment to sustainability and responsible education are helping us embed these values across Ravensbourne, while equipping our students with the knowledge, confidence and skills to make a positive impact in their future careers
Arriving in Bath just on time for kick-off, we settled into two days of rich discussion and new connections. The conference was marked by its friendliness and openness, with delegates sharing a clear commitment to Responsible Management Education.
Starting the conversation: day one
Day One’s opening panel began with a powerful question for all in attendance: What is the biggest challenge facing Responsible Management Education?
In what turned out to be a fascinating discussion, two themes emerged across the board: mindset and engagement. As academics, our research and teaching give us an opportunity to shape future leaders and challenge established assumptions. They also give us a responsibility to encourage meaningful action.
Shortly after and as part of the first round of paper presentations, Cristina and Christoph presented their research on how workshops around Climate Fresk and the Circular Economy Collage help students develop climate literacy while reducing eco-anxiety.
The discussion also highlighted the collaborative nature of the PRME community. Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Chair of the PRME UK & Ireland Chapter, described it as a friendly group brought together by its shared commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to embedding purpose, sustainability and responsibility into business and management education. Our experience in Bath reflected this.
Academic conferences can sometimes feel daunting and overly formal. This one, however, felt different. The people involved felt interested in each other’s work and were keen to share a number of ideas. Questions and comments were both thoughtful and constructive, which created a space for discussion rather than simply challenging the work presented.
As the day continued, delegates shared ideas across sessions and informal conversations over lunch and coffee. The Chapter’s AGM concluded the official programme on campus, with thanks to Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas as her term as Chair came to an end. New steering committee members were elected, existing members were confirmed and the University of the West of England (UWE) was announced as next host of the 2027 conference.
The conversations continued after the official programme, with delegates gathering for dinner and drinks at The Architect in Bath city centre. For the three first-time attendees, the evening ended with a 45-minute walk back to campus, giving us plenty of time to reflect on the conversations from the day.
Continuing the conversation: day two
Despite the late evening, day two began early but with high spirits at breakfast, as everyone was looking forward to another enriching conference day.
The morning carried a different energy from day one, slightly more reflective with half-finished conversations from the day before, and a growing sense of familiarity with faces that had been strangers just a day earlier. Sessions throughout the morning ranged in focus from pedagogy to partnerships and practice, each one adding another layer to the same underlying question the opening panel had posed: how do we actually move Responsible Management Education from principle into practice?
On this second day, Sein and Christoph presented their research project, ‘Importing Diversity, Exporting Responsibility: Navigating Tensions in RME with Global South Students in the Global North.’
What struck us most was how personally the room engaged with the topic. It raised questions about how higher education can better recognise different economic and cultural experiences while avoiding assumptions about where students start from.
The questions and comments following the presentation were supportive and challenging in equal measure. They also opened up wider conversations about the issues that higher education and society will need to keep addressing.
Looking back at the conference now, with temperatures having returned closer to ‘normal’ but another heatwave on the horizon, the experience has left us feeling fortunate to have been part of the event.
As first-time attendees representing Ravensbourne, we found a community that was open to sharing ideas and learning from different perspectives. To add to this, the conference reinforced the value of connecting research with the challenges facing education and society today.
For us, it was a reminder of the role we can play through our teaching and research. As Ravensbourne continues to develop its work around Responsible Management Education, being part of this wider community gives us an opportunity to contribute and keep challenging how we prepare students for the future.
