Positive psychology is rapidly growing in the world of change management. With the emergence of many new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the need to overcome cultural and organizational barriers within and between organizations is getting bigger every day. World-leading professor on creating positive changes in the workplace, Prof. dr. David Cooperrider, visits the University of Twente to attend two doctoral defences on Friday 4 October. On the occasion, a meetup is being held where David will be available for plenary questions and answers.
Appreciative Inquiry
David Cooperrider counts as the founding father of the Appreciative Inquiry Model. Appreciative Inquiry researchers have been exploring evidence-based approaches for decades to ignite collaboration across workplaces, empower self-organization, and ask the kind of generative questions that create learning cultures and enable positive changes. The approach focuses on talents, successes and opportunities rather than problems and obstacles.
"New technologies such as artificial intelligence disclose the need for more human intelligence", says Celeste Wilderom, who is a full professor in Change Management and Organizational Behaviour at the University of Twente. “Complex data-driven decision making processes within organizations require new and more intensive forms of (interdisciplinary and team) collaboration. It is a huge challenge to get them of the ground and keep them up and running."
David L. Cooperrider is the Fairmount Minerals Full Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, US. Best known as the co-creator and creative thought leader of Appreciative Inquiry he is creating a positive revolution in area of change leadership by helping institutions all over the world discover the power of the strength-based approaches to multi-stakeholder innovation and collaborative design and execution.
Two PhD Defences
Prof. dr. Cooperrider will then join the defense committees for two PhD students who have spent the past years furthering research on Appreciative Inquiry:
Mille Themsen Duvander
Mille Themsen Duvander is a PhD student from Denmark. She is an adjunct professor at University College Absalon, Vordingborg. In her research “Organic growth: Balancing lifegiving learning processes in the profession of Appreciative Inquiry practitioners”, Duvander analyzed data to explore a new theoretical approach towards the understanding of adult development in educational, organizational or institutional settings.
Michelle McQuaid
Michelle McQuaid is a PhD student from Australia. She is a senior fellow at the University of Melbourne and co-founder of The Change Lab. In her thesis “How do AI Summits help organizational systems to flourish?”, McQuaid explores when, how and why Appreciative Inquiry summits can create positive disruptions that enable organizations to become more adaptive, creative, and resilient.
Programme
Prof. dr. Cooperrider will be available for plenary questions and answers on 4 October from 10.00 to noon in Room 2 of the Waaier building, University of Twente.
The two public PhD thesis defences will take place in Room 4 of the same Waaier building at the University of Twente. Supervisors are Prof. dr. C.P.M. Wilderom (Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences) and Prof. dr. D. Cooperrider. Starting times: Mille Themsen Duvander (12.20), Michelle McQuaid (14.20).
