Welcome to this interdisciplinary and inter-technology PhD course in International Business – Business Model Innovation (IB-BMI), delivered as a NORSI partner course and hosted by AAU Business School. The course will take place 23–27 March 2026 at Aalborg University and is accredited by the AAU PhD programme.
Aim
The course aims to acquaint Doctoral Candidates (DCs) from various disciplines, departments, and faculties with the opportunities and challenges that firms—small or large, new or established, low- or high-tech—may encounter when innovating their internationalisation, de-internationalisation, and re-internationalisation business models and strategies.
Why
The course targets DCs across a broad spectrum of disciplines who, through their own research, aspirations, and motivations—and/or as part of research or applied project teams—already pursue or wish to pursue entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial, commercialisation, or other forms of international knowledge transfer activities.
The course provides deeper practical and conceptual understanding of the intersection between International Business (IB) and Business Model Innovation (BMI), supporting both academic research and ambitions to successfully launch and/or scale ventures internationally.
Who
The course is aimed at Doctoral Candidates from diverse disciplines who:
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Research the IB–BMI intersection
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Are interested in researching the IB–BMI intersection
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Plan to start their own international ventures
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Already run entrepreneurial international ventures
The course admits a maximum of 20 Doctoral Candidates.
Apply now to secure your place.
- Learning objectives
The course aims to acquaint DCs from diverse disciplines with opportunities and challenges firms – small or large, new or established, low- or high-tech – may encounter while innovating their internationalization, de-internationalization, and re-internationalization business models and strategies. - Learning outcomes
By the end of the course DCs will have acquired skills and knowledge in (a) understanding firms’ (small or large, new or established, low- or high-tech) opportunities and challenges at these three intersections: internationalization-BMI, de-internationalization-BMI, and re-internationalization-BMI and (b) applying these intersections to own research projects, international business ventures or ideas, and other real-life cases. - Learning and teaching approach
This is an interactive course. DCs are expected to attend all sessions and be prepared for every session. Session preparation includes for example reading all assigned material for a session, writing and submitting written material as applied, and working in groups to prepare for next sessions and/or group assignments. Lectures, workshops, group presentations and discussions, faculty and peer review and feedback are examples of activities during the sessions. Half a day of the course will be open to ‘public’ and will feature for example public debates, Q&A panels, or guest lectures. DCs will have the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their research projects. - Assessment
Each DC will submit a pre-course application essay. During the course, the participants will work on 2 assignments in groups, present them and receive feedback. Assignment 1: Advising the management of an international firm on a course of action based on an IB-BMI intersection. Assignemnt 2: IB-BMI and Future Technologies: Future-Oriented Mini-scenarios. Detail guidelines and the assignment material are available on the course Intranet. - Course material
The course material is on the course Intranet and will be available to registered DCs at least two weeks before the course start. - Course evaluation
DCs will have the opportunity to evaluate the course providing feedback to the organizers and the PhD school based on predefined templates to contribute to further enhancement of the course. - Public event
During the week of the course, one of the mornings or afternoons is open to public, where the PhD course faculty debate and discuss various theorizing and theory building topics. “Boundaries between network-based vs. platform-based business models” is the topic of a panel discussion of the 2026 Edition of the course. More details here.The course welcomes DCs across diverse spectrum of disciplines who, based on own research, aspirations and motivations, and/or as part of research or applied project teams, already pursue or would like to pursue entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial, commercialization or other type of knowledge transfer activities internationally and who would like to deepen their knowledge and skills on how practical and conceptual understanding of the International Business (IB) and Business Model Innovation (BMI) can help DCs with their research as well as their ambitions to successfully launch and/or grow their new ventures internationally.
The course admits maximum 20 DCs and is offered only in-person format.
- Deadlines
DL1: Feb 23, 2026 – Application Essay submission
DL2: Feb 27, 2026 – Notification of acceptance
DL3: Mar 9, 2026 – Registration and payment of the course fee. Early registration is strongly encouraged. - Participation fee
Participation fee is 150 EUR (the fee applies to ALL applicants). The fee will cover costs related to coffee breaks and two dinners during the week of the course. Lunches are covered by the AAU PhD school. Each participant is responsible for his/her own travel and accommodation. - Application and acceptance
To apply to the course, each candidate shall submit an Application Essay addressing the following: - to be decided
- The Application Essay Template could be accessed here. The application essays shall be sent via e-mail to Michael K. Simonsen.
Registration and payment
Payment instructions will be provided here or in Moodle. After receiving the acceptance letter, please coordinate as needed with Michael K. Simonsen the payment arrangements, incl., issuing an invoice if applied. The registration fee of … Euro applies to ALL applicants. The “Registration and payment of the course fee” deadline is March 9, 2026.
Course venue
The course will be held at the AAU Business School, Fibigerstræde 11, Aalborg.
Rooms to be provided…
Travel
From Aalborg Airport: 1) Bus and train; 2) Taxi
Toward Fibigerstræde 11: Take bus 2 from Aalborg St. to AAU Fibigerstræde (Bertil Ohlins Vej / Aalborg) stop; Fibigerstraede 11 is less than 5 min walk from the bus stop. You may use this journey planner.
Accommodation
A variety of hotels can be found in Aalborg – at very different costs. See this link.
Faculty
Petri Ahokangas, Professor, Director of the Martti Ahtisaari Institute, Finland, is an international and new business researcher specializing in high technology, digital business, and especially in the connectivity sector (5G and 6G solutions and services) from the perspective of business models, ecosystems, strategies, and internationalization.
Jonas S. Eduardsen is an Associate Professor at the AAU Business School in Denmark. Jonas’ research focuses on firm internationalization, incl., firms’ international expansion behavior, performance, and strategies. His work contributes to both academic knowledge and practical insights for firms navigating global markets.
Nikolai Kazantsev is a Research Associate at the Institute for Manufacturing and Research Fellow at Clare Hall, both at the University of Cambridge. Nikolai’s interdisciplinary research interests focus on system-level methodologies to develop, reconfigure, and deploy manufacturing and service capacities across supply chains.
Jesper C. Sort is an Associate Professor at the AAU Business School in Denmark. His research interest lies at the intersection of management accounting, business models, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on understanding and improving management performance in SMEs, inspired by business model innovation.
Romeo V. Turcan is a Professor at the AAU Business School, Adjunct Professor at the Trinity College Dublin and Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge. Romeo’s main research interests include de-internationalization and re-internationalization of firms and theory building across diverse disciplines and contexts.
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