Avoid the pitfalls

The Festival of Research: Offshoring and HR in the future

Torben Pedersen from the Center for Strategic Management and Globalization warned the participants of this years Festival of Research about forgetting the hidden offshoring costs.

- Many businesses forget to research the issue properly, which means that the offshoring adventure can end up being very expensive, says Torben Pedersen.

Torben Pedersen stressed that many Danish businesses are just as dependent of what is happening in India as they are of what is happening in Sweden. India was on the agenda next, when Professor Anthony D'Costa turned the spotlight to the country's IT industry, which is responsible for educating 20% of all IT engineers in the world.

New requirements – new competences

After the break, the global offshoring and outsourcing discussion was brought to an end, and the focus shifted to the employees of the future.

Professor Henrik Holt Larsen is from the Department of Organization, and he warned the participants about the pitfalls of success.

- A lot of people are extremely skilled at something that was in demand yesterday. You have to make sure at all times that the job and the employee match. It doesn't matter if it is the employee's competences or the job description that have changed, he said.

The three professors each gave a lecture on "Development: Why, When and How?".

The Festival of Research

The Festival of Research is an annual, national event, whose purpose is promote Danish research to the public. The 2010 Festival of Research is held on 22, 23 and 24 April. The organisers include research institutions, hospitals, businesses and cultural institutions. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is behind the event.

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