Hack your responsible learning practices for VUCA times (Fulbright Event)

BAM-PRME Workshop - Hack your responsible learning practices for VUCA times

16th October 11:45am-3pm, June Henfry Suite, Blackburne House (the reception team will direct you on arrival). Lunch will be provided.

In this practical workshop, you will:

• Apply the latest trends in learning and organisational development in VUCA times to your practice
• Revise and refresh class materials or course designs with immediate feedback to ensure they are VUCA-fit
• Develop an action plan for your own development in VUCA times
• Build your network for your own longer term responsible management development

BAM-PRME Workshop - Hack your responsible learning practices for VUCA times

Refresh your practice so that we can build leaders and managers who can embrace volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). VUCA contexts are not a thing of the past, but are an increasing trend in the context of responsible management and the Sustainable Development Goals. Current and future leaders and managers will, more than ever, need to develop their skills, mindsets, and networks ready for the future.

This workshop is a special opportunity to apply the latest thinking and practice from our Fulbright Specialist in human and organisation development, and regional BAM SIG and PRME network leaders. Our aim is to hack our learning materials or course designs to ensure they are VUCA-fit, but also develop a clear manifesto for our own ongoing development in the field, so we ourselves are VUCA-fit for the future.

This workshop is supported by Liverpool Business School in partnership with the Fulbright Commission, the British Academy of Management Sustainable and Responsible Business SIG, and the North West and North Wales PRME network.

Eligibility

This event is for educationalists, trainers, instructional designers who are involved in responsible management teaching, learning and assessment.

The event is particularly relevant for members of the British Academy of Management Sustainable and Responsible Business SIG and the North West and North Wales PRME network.

Indicative schedule

11:45 - Arrival, registration, and preparing micro-communities for our arrival lunch

12:00 - Welcome and introduction with working lunch - Professor Tony Wall, LBS

12:20 - Lightning Talk: “Advances in development in VUCA times and what’s on the horizon?” - Professor Laura Bierema, Fulbright Specialist

12:30 - Panel: Quick VUCA-hacks to integrate VUCA capabilities into learning - Laura Bierema, Simon Smith, Sarah Williams, Konstantina Skritsovali (3-5 mins max each) - chaired by Tony Wall

12:55 - Time to think and hack: apply ideas in pairs and small groups, each table facilitated by one of our guest contributors (class, module-wide, programme wide)

1:45 - Whole-group feedback and learning - chaired by Tony Wall, feedback from each guest contributor

2:00 - Co-creation of our collective VUCA development for our futures - Professor Tony Wall, LBS

2:45 - Closing reflections and next steps for integrating VUCA in learning and development - Professor Laura Bierema, Fulbright Specialist

15:00 - Close

Guest contributors

• Professor Laura L. Bierema is our Fulbright Commission Specialist visiting from the University of Georgia in the US. Professor Bierema was a President of the Academy of Human Resource Development, and has won multiple awards for her research and leadership, including for her work in organisation and women’s development in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous settings.
• Professor Tony Wall is co-founder of LiRICS and integrates research practices across business, arts, education, and health. He recently completed a 4-year performance autoethnographic study embracing VUCA through arts-based methods and is now using Legislative Theatre as a policy research method. He is ranked #1 in Google Scholar for 'management development' and 'management learning' (non-retired), and is lead editor of the open access Sustainability Teaching for Impact (2025).
• Dr Simon Smith is a Principal Lecturer at Oxford Brookes Business School, and is chair of the the British Academy of Management Sustainable and Responsible Business SIG and was a co-investigator for the QAA's Student Intrapreneur and Entrepreneur Toolkit and community of practice.
• Sarah Williams co-leads the North-West and North Wales Local Network for PRME UK & Ireland Chapter. She is Senior Lecturer with a passion for equality, diversity and inclusion, and creative methods (for which she won a Teaching Excellence Award in 2025). She is co-author of "Futuring as inquiry: pragmatics, problematics, and possibilities" in the upcoming, open access Elgar Companion to Management Education and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Dr Konstantina Skritsovali co-leads the North-West and North Wales Local Network for PRME UK & Ireland Chapter. She is Principal Lecturer with a passion for innovative pedagogies in responsible management education, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable business models, and leads the PRME SIP for Liverpool Business School.

Prework

There is no prework.

Please bring

Refillable, recycled water bottles are welcome!

Lunch and refreshments will be provided, please tell us about your dietary and access requirements.

Location

Blackburne House, Blackburne Place, Liverpool L8 7PE.

At reception, ask for the: June Henfry Suite.

You can walk to the venue from Lime Street Station (18 mins) or Liverpool Central (17 mins).

Entry is through Falkner Street, and the Google Maps location is here: https://goo.gl/maps/E6EZ5m1tX2JxLDv98. Details of the venue are here.

Parking

There is very limited onsite parking at Blackburne House, and it can be pre-booked through Just Park (make a booking here justpark.com/180405 – but please note parking is subject to availability and purchasing a ticket does not guarantee a space). Entry is through Falkner Street, and the Google Maps location is here: https://goo.gl/maps/E6EZ5m1tX2JxLDv98. In addition, there are many paid car parking options within walking distance (e.g. on Mount Pleasant and on Brownlow Hill). Please visit ncp.co.uk, yourparkingspace.co.uk, justpark.com, or liverpool.gov.uk.

Travel

The closest train stations are: Liverpool Lime Street (connections nationally) and Liverpool Central (local connections). Contact nationalrail.co.uk on 08457484950.

Hotels

Examples of local hotels include: Hope Street Hotel (2 mins walk from Blackburne House), Quest Liverpool City Centre (13 mins), The Liner Hotel (16 mins), Radisson RED Liverpool (16 mins), Doubletree by Hilton Liverpool (20 mins), Heeton Concept Hotel (21 mins), Leonardo Hotel Liverpool (21 mins).

Wifi

Wifi is available free of charge in Blackburne House.

Event organisers and supporters

This event is brought to you by:Liverpool Business School (LBS) - LBS is an engaged and inclusive business school at the heart of the Liverpool City Region with social, environmental, and economic impact beyond borders. LBS is committed to the advancement of gender equality and co-founded LiRICS’s and its inclusive transitions network to promote diversity, inclusion, and equality as a driver for sustainable development.

The Fulbright Commission (US) - The Fulbright Specialist Programme enables UK universities to host a leading US academic or professional to deepen global perspectives, work on issues that require a rapid response, and build sustained relationships.

The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is a UN-supported initiative to embed ethics, responsibility, and sustainability in business and management education. The PRME UK & Ireland Chapter supports universities in advancing the UN SDGs, with regional networks driving collaboration. This event is co-hosted by the North West and North Wales Local Network.Keep up to date with opportunities: follow LBS and LiRICS on LinkedIn.

Keep up to date with LiRICS opportunities: follow us on LinkedIn | join us on MS Teams

Through this LiRICS event are proud to be supporting Blackburne House and its commitment to promoting women and girls. Learn more about Gender Equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5).