Bringing together people who lead change towards a caring society

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    At the IEM Caring Foundation we bring together people who lead change towards a caring society ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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    We believe that every person has a responsibility in the way Europe develops and we support those who take an active role to consciously shape a Europe in which people care

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    We are students, professionals and academics from across Europe, who share a background in industrial engineering and management in our studies and work

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    We foster cross-border collaboration in all dimensions as a key way to broaden perspectives, build respect and enable innovation addressing the challenges of our time

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    We are concerned about the growing social divide, human’s devastating impact on the environment and the quest for money versus happiness.

Mark your calendars for Virtual IEM Caring Convention!

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Let’s keep changing the world with one tree at a time!

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Fellows meeting in Lage Mierde, The Netherlands.

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What we do

The IEM Caring foundation aims to find ideas with positive impact towards a caring society. Therefore it brings together people and their ideas to make this change happen. It engages and fosters initiatives in five Fields of Impact.

Equal Opportunities

Fostering equal opportunities for participation within the IEM network and caring related education by bridging the substantial differences in purchasing power in Europe.

Social Entrepreneurship

Educating and engaging students and professionals to take entrepreneurial initiatives within new and existing businesses that are oriented towards more a sustainable, inclusive and equal society.

Conscious Leadership

Nurturing a growing consciousness in future leaders, so that they, by transforming themselves, ignite a change for good in their communities.

Strong Sustainability

Engaging IEMers in every role and position to transform the negative trend of depleting natural resources in order to solve the grand challenges of mankind (such as climate change, food security, biodiversity loss) and build essentially more resilient societies. We want to leave a liveable planet for our children.

United Europe

Foster a mindset in favor of a united Europe, in order to counteract the increasing trend of nationalism.

Dialogue Monkeys , an initiative founded under this field of impact, is the public channel for people to discuss a peaceful and sustainable future for Europe and its neighbours in a respectful, factual and diverse manner.

You can get futher information by visiting dialogue-monkeys.org and watch the latest European Talkshow that took place in Skopje.

Conventions

The 17th IEM Caring Convention will take place in Paris, in November 24-26th, 2023.
We are still working on the last details but the Convention will be focused on Sustainable Transportation – Adaptation & Innovation, as Paris is a pioneer in non-motorized transport as well as in the development of cycle paths, traffic lanes and parking spaces adapted to electric vehicles.

If you wish to join, please fill in this application form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for more news!

Past Conventions

  • 1st Convention – Frankfurt, Germany, March 2015

    The convention in Frankfurt was the very first event of the IEM Caring Foundation. There were many ideas, that had been collected in our network, of what we could achieve together. As a conclusion, we decided to not focus on one big project, but to become a platform that people could bring their ideas in.

    The event was the first to gather academia, alumnus and students, which gave us a unique variety of perspectives. Everybody shared their experiences and learned from each other, which was so powerful that it lead us to organise a convention again.

  • 2nd Convention – Oirschot, The Netherlands, October 2015

    During the Oirschot Convention, participants presented their ideas and research in groups.

    Participants challenged each other during the discussion and reflection sessions to sharpen their ideas and grow their dreams. The event shaped the idea of what a convention could be. Main realisation was the value of bringing practitioners into the events in order to reflect on real-life stories and cases.

  • 3rd Convention – Madrid, Spain, March 2016

    The convention focused on Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability areas. It was the first convention we started to listen to practitioners and their experiences. During the convention a diverse group of alumni, professors and students participated in working groups and reflection sections.

  • 4th Convention – Kescked, Hungary, October 2016

    During the convention in Kescked, participants had a chance to reflect on “What can you do in your life?” We listened to social entrepreneurs from Hungary and reflected on how it could be possible for us to create impact in our life.

     

  • 5th Convention - Sofia, Bulgaria, March 2017

    During the 5th Convention, Social Entrepreneurship and United Europe were the two main topics of the convention. Bulgarian entrepreneurs shared their experiences with participants during the morning and in the afternoon participants reflected on their role to keep Europe united. A pre-Convention took place for the first time in order to enable interested participants to listen to the stories of even more local social entrepreneurs. It was the first time external participants joined to the conventions.

  • 6th Convention- Geneva, Switzerland, September 2017

    Inspired by the unique Geneva geography and 600 years of building bridges between communities, we interpreted Crossing Borders in a broad sense: country borders, industry borders, language borders and organisational borders during the 6th convention.

    The convention was a mix of workshops, lectures and experiences. Some inspiring speakers from the Geneva region joined us to share their stories and expertise. On the other hand, the first European Talkshow took place. Young people of 12 different nationalities joined the discussion around topics such as being European and purpose of Europe.

    A pre-convention took place for those interested and available on Friday during the day. Participants had chance to visit CERN and got inspired from multicultural working atmosphere.

  • 7th Convention - Ericeira, Portugal, March 2018

     

  • 8th Convention - Brussels, Belgium, September 2018

    The participants got to learn about social entrepreneurship in Brussels and took part in a series of workshops aiming to combine a caring approach with a business approach. The first day a seed was planted as they identified 4 projects through a hackathon that will be developed in the future namely:

    – Cleaning the oceans, rivers and land: How might we use technology and change consumption habits to reach a wasteless planet and clean up the damage already done by 2028 without negative social impact

    – Digital Divide: How might we support the slow technology adapters towards being aware and integrated with the technological development

    – SMARTphone Fest: How can we organise a festival that promotes the responsible use of smartphones

    – How might we raise awareness and action to impower small farmers in Macedonia to create new products and enter the European market

    The second day the soil was prepped through a series of workshops and the ideas were fertilised by getting feedback on the identified projects from locals and travelers.

    On the last day of the Convention the projects germinated on a local festival about social entrepreneurship and farmers and the projects were pitched to each other and to locals.

    We hope the projects take root in the future and help lead the change towards a more caring society!

  • 9th Convention - Skopje, Rep. North Macedonia, March 2019

    The 9th Caring Convention took place in Macedonia’s capital city, Skopje. With the convention being centred around the field of impact United Europe, the participants got deep insights into Macedonia’s history, political views and current state.

    The second day of the convention yielded with great productivity and lots of fruitful discussions. It started out with the presentations from three local speakers. Kristijan Rizov, a postgradute student of history at the Saints Cyril and Methodius University, talked about the historical overview of Macedonia according to school books. During his presentation, the participants deepened their knowledge about the history of Macedonia and common misconceptions about the territory.

    Next was Ivan Jovanov, Executive Director at LEAD (NGO), who talked about what Macedonia expects from the EU. Being a part of many researches, Ivan presented interesting outcomes regarding the topic. The participants learnt the reasons why Macedonia wants to be a part of the EU, and not just because it’s a country in Europe. Last was Miroslav Draganov, Executive Director at the Institute for Human Rights. He talked about the opportunities for Macedonia joining the EU and how having Macedonia will benefit the EU.

    After the presentations and Q&A sessions, the participants joined minds in a constructive workshop. Divided into groups, they discussed the pros and cons of Macedonia joining the EU and later shared them with the group. The workshop was followed by a talk show with the above mentioned speakers and Biljana Vankovska, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy. Each of them expressed their own point of view regarding Macedonia’s accession to the EU in a respected, factual and diverse manner. This was the fourth talk show, which is a production of Dialogue Monkeys, a public channel for people to discuss a peaceful and sustainable future for Europe and its neighbours.

    With the closing session the participants shared their ideas on how to further develop the IEM Caring Foundation and how to make sure the points discussed at the convention will be put into action towards a more caring society!

  • 10th Convention - Kyiv, Ukraine, September 2019

    As the political situation had calmed, the 10th Caring Convention took place in Kyiv, Ukraine from September, 27th to 29th 2020. It was hosted by Beetroot. The topic was “Ukraine, a country of change”.

    Throughout the event the participants enjoyed presentations on the history of Ukraine by historian Mariia Yurchak, “A gap between the city and the village” by Victor Artemenko, the current political and socioeconomic situation of Ukraine by Natia Jikia and a personal story on what it is like to work in the financial sector in Ukraine by Kristian Andersson. 

    Many local players took part in the event such as Urban Space 500, a group of 500 people who gather and invest 1,000 USD per person to create a social restaurant. The profit from their activities goes to city projects for the development of Kyiv.

    Participants also got the chance to hear the inspiring stories of both Andreas Flodström, ESTIEM Alumni and founder of the social enterprise Beetroot and Joris Hoogerdijk, one of the founders of the IEM Caring Foundation.

    Additionally, Sweden’s new Ambassador to Ukraine, paid a visit and the participants had the chance to have a Q&A session with Sviatoslav Yurash, the youngest member of the Ukranian parliament.  He, together with other speakers, took part in the latest European Talk Show.

    At the closing and feedback session the participants shared their insights and impressions of the Convention and had the chance to present and discuss ideas and projects they are working on, so that all participants got informed what is alive in the IEM Caring Movement.

  • 11th Convention - Istanbul (Virtual), May 2020

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we had to adapt the setting for our 11th Convention, leading to our first virtual IEM Caring Convention. It revolved around the topic of social entrepreneurship, and more specifically social entrepreneurship in Turkey, as Istanbul was the location we initially had planned to host the convention.

    The Convention started with a presentation about Turkey and how it supports and shapes its local social entrepreneurs. Throughout the weekend several social entrepreneurs presented their companies and ideas such as the smart waste management platform Evreka, the WeWalk smart cane for the visually impaired and Turkcell, a turksih telecommunications platform invested in supporting social entrepreneurship locally. Furthermore, participants from all over Europe and even beyond were invited to share their view on social entrepreneurship and what examples they could provide from their countries.

    It was an inspiring and encouraging event, and despite the virtual format, participants could still connect and exchange their thoughts and experiences.

  • 12th Convention - Virtual, January 2021

       

    With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and a very positive experience from the previous virtual Caring Convention, we decided to host another virtual Convention, giving many more people the opportunity to participate. With people from different walks of life we discussed and explored the topic of sustainable finance.

    The event was filled with presentations and workshops about how to ethically spend money, providing a global overview of key players in sustainable finance, assessing the ESG impact of individuals, how to identify truly sustainable businesses and the dilemma between profits and positive impact that banks especially face.

    Among other things, participants got to learn from the experiences of Laurie Pazienza on corporate greenwashing and sustainable businesses, Astrid Bijlsma on sustainable investments and James Spence and Sophie Think on impact investing and green energy at the Libra Project. Everyone shared resources with each other such as books, articles, movies and others and continued informing each other after the event.

    Closing the event, participants got to discuss how they would like to implement the knowledge they gained, what will help them achieve it (the wind in their sails) and what might hold them back (the anchors). We also shared where on the map we would like to create a positive impact, with most indicating of course that they would like to have an impact everywhere!

  • 13th Convention - Helsinki, Finland, October 2021

    During the 13th Convention, several sessions were held around the topic of carbon neutrality. Participants first got to learn about Finnish NGO Compensate who helps companies and individuals measure and offset their carbon footprint and The Upright Project, which measures the net impact of 27.000 companies around the world.

    Prof. Dimitrios Moshou and Prof. Xanthoula Eirini Pantazi from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) shared their research and involvement in European research programs on climate mitigation in agriculture before the Helsinki Regional Council shared their strategy for carbon neutrality in 2030 for Helsinki-Uusimaa.

    Participants also got to learn about Finnish culture through sitsit, sauna, good food and great company! They left home inspired to implement what they learned in their work and daily life.

  • 14th Convention - Berlin, Germany, April 2022

    Berlin, as many large cities across the world, is experiencing how factors like climate change, economic turmoils and shifts in demographics affect living conditions in urban areas.

    With a focus on contemporary and future housing solutions, participants got to learn about the impact of climate change on life in cities and possible solutions to combat the issue of lack of housing space in urban areas, such as high rises. Furthermore, participants learnt that over time and with increasing welfare, the number of square meters of living space per person has significantly increased (e.g. in Germany people now use about 2.5 times as many square meters per person as 60 years ago). Additionally, the event provided insights regarding modular living spaces, renovation practices and what it means to live a fulfilled life in a society. Imbued with the knowledge shared by the experts, participants got to design their own living spaces and share insights with the group. Having experienced Berlin in its many layers, everyone gained a new appreciation of how to live together and share the space we have.

  • 15th Convention - Istanbul, November 2022

    After the ESTIEM Council Meeting, the 15th Caring Convention was hosted on the topic of Sustainable Tourism.

    We explored Turkey’s economic dependence on tourism and heritage protedction, discussed sustainable tourism, and practised how we could shape our travels to have the least negative impact. We had many new ESTIEMers joining and getting to know about the IEM Caring Movement, it was a pleasure hosting such a diverse group!

  • 16th Convention - Virtual, May 2023

    The 16th IEM Caring Convention, brought together 22 participants from across the globe. The convention provided a unique platform for engaging discussions on the social and ethical impact of AI.

    With a focus on fostering a caring and responsible AI ecosystem, the convention explored various dimensions of AI’s influence on society and its potential implications. Participants delved into topics ranging from bias and fairness in algorithms to privacy concerns and the future of work in the age of automation.

    Our guests, Martin Boeddeker and Robert Cartwright, provided us with a deeper understanding of the complex issues surrounding AI and its ethical implications. Which was well picked-up by our participants who layed out a series of important values that should applied in the AI context.

Get Involved

If you like what you have seen so far about the IEM Caring Foundation, here is your chance to contribute!

The IEM Caring Foundation provides the soil for all kinds of ideas that aim at a caring society and we appeal to all who want to make a contribution, to raise their voices, share their ideas and make a difference.

Support us

  • Become a member of the Club of 100 – Making a difference in ESTIEM The Club of 100 is a club of maximum 100 members, who commit themselves to donate at least 500 € per year for a period of 5 years. The Club of 100 is open to all individuals who have shown to appreciate ESTIEM as a network organisation.
  • Donate to a specific project we are supporting. Projects you could support:

Donation

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Convention

The IEM Caring Convention, which is a semi-annual gathering of IEM Caring fellows with students, academia and professionals. During the convention, participants are learning from the stories of practitioners, work in the groups, share their experiences and ideas, grow together, inspire each other and reflect on themselves.

Social Entrepreneurship MOOCs

The Lean StartUp Entrepreneurship Course teaches how to develop business ideas and turn it into a successful StartUp.
You can register through this link.

Leadership Camp

Leadership Alumni camp is an enhancing self-development in professional life through a program of 3×3 days over half a year including work sessions and lectures on healthy lifestyle, purpose finding, being self-aware and present, understanding leadership and change making experience.

Sustainability Camp

Sustainibility Bootcamp is a professional event by ESTIEM Alumni to raise awareness about sustainability.We aimed to have an exchange between academic, corporate and entrepreneurial perspectives. Participants are invited to share their own experiences and cases.

Impact Thesis

Impact thesis encourages students to work and share expertise with developing countries. Depending
on the topic of the thesis, it can relate to other fields of impact as well, specially Strong
Sustainability.

The IEM Caring Foundation has been recognized as a public benefit organization under Dutch law. The foundation has been approved by Global Giving to be part of their online fundraising community.

IEM Caring Foundation is the English name of Industrial Engineering and Management Stichting, registered at the Chamber of Commerce in Eindhoven, The Netherlands under number 60887931 and at the tax authorities in The Netherlands under number 8541.04.483.

Join us

  • Join the next Caring Convention  to share your ideas, sharpen others’, and shape them into action.
  • Join one of the supported activities
  • Become a fellow yourself and help us grow our collective impact
  • Follow us on Facebook and Linkedin or subscribe for our news feed to keep up to date with our developments and hear where you can contribute.
  • If you have an idea in mind and are thinking about how to make it a reality, approach us! Let us know about your idea and the help you would like from the Foundation. We can discuss it together and find the best way to make it happen.

Cooperate with us

We call out to organisations, non-profit, as well as profit-oriented.

With non-profit organisation, we want to collaborate on ideas that are emerging on either side, so that a joint effort will materialize the full potential and assure the desired impact on our society.

For profit oriented organizations, we want to be a trustful partner that will channel your contribution in form of services or donation to the best effect for our various projects.

Please contact us at info@iemcaring.org so we can find this out together.

Who we are

Our fellows are students, professionals and academics who dedicate themselves to the different fields of impact.

Sofia Cabeça

(Portuguese, 1994)

Arthur Michalczyk

(German, 1993)

Sena Horoz

(Turkish, 1999)

Ida Korpivaara

(Finnish, 1993)

Carmen García Wang

(Spanish, 1993)

Federico Bley

(Belgian,1994)

Among the fellows, the foundation’s board is appointed and assigned for a period of one year.

Fellows & Board

Our fellows are students, professionals and academics who dedicate themselves to the different fields of impact. Fellows are the decision making buddies of the foundation and they are appointed for 3 year periods. Council of Fellows make policy plan, write reports, prepare budgets and work on different fields of impacts. Among the fellows, foundation board is elected annually. The current board is:

Carmen Garcia Wang

Chairperson

Ida Korpivaara

Treasurer

Sofia Cabeça

Secretary

Advisory Council

Currently ESTIEM, EPIEM and ESTIEM Alumni are the networks that supports and advices to the IEM Caring Foundation. The number of supporting networks is not limited to three, it can change by the time. Representatives of each network are the member of Advisory Council, which supports and advices to the foundation.

Our Story

The idea for the foundation was born in Istanbul in 2013 as a joint initiative of IEM students, alumni and professors to expand the positive impact of our network in Europe.

  • In 2013, Natalie Gyárfás, a student in her role as ESTIEM’s VP of Finance, was frustrated by the unequal opportunities to participate and launched the idea of an alumni fund to support deprived students.
  • Marlies van Laarhoven, an alumnus and co-founder of ESTIEM, contributed her vision for the power of over 25 generations of ambitious people in the IEM network collaborating on their widely felt desire to have a positive impact.
  • Moreover, Jim Platts, a professor of Cambridge University and academic friend of ESTIEM, was an instrumental supporter of the founding of the Foundation with the aim to foster caring.

June 8th 2014 a letter of intent was signed by ESTIEMESTIEM Alumni and EPIEM in Budapest. June 17th 2014 the IEM Caring Foundation was established by its founding board in the Netherlands.

 

Today, the Foundation has found its place and purpose, is supporting different fields of impact and has a structure that makes it built to last.

Archives

Imprint

The activities of IEM Caring Foundation are exempt from VAT according to Article 11.1 section F of the Law on Value Added Tax (Wet OB) of The Netherlands.

Permanent office:

De Groene Loper 3
5612 AE Eindhoven
The Netherlands

IEM Caring Foundation is the English name of Industrial Engineering and Management Stichting, registered at the Chamber of Commerce in Eindhoven, The Netherlands under number 60887931 and at the tax authorities in The Netherlands under number 8541.04.483.

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