conference program

2nd IAQUIS Conference

The Transformative Edge:

Integrating Innovation, Quality and Technology for Sustainable Business Ecosystems

16th-18th September, 2026
Catania, Italy

download the program

Abstracts and extended abstracts must be presented in a maximum of 7 minutes, while full papers must be presented in 10 minutes.

September 16th, Wednesday

Time	Activity	Location
15:00 – 18:00	Participants Registration	Rettorato
15:30 – 17:00	Doctoral Consortium Giorgio Mina – From Risk to Competitiveness: Analyse Climate-Related Risks to Identify Sustainable Pathways for Tourism Destinations and Businesses Flaviana Capolini – Circular Economy and Agri-Food Waste Valorisation for the Development of Bio-Based Leather and Sustainable Textile Materials Chiara Moretti – Assessment of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the Italian dairy supply chain Martina Cova – Tools and indicators for managing social sustainability in the cocoa supply chain Coordinators: Professor Samuel Petros Sebhatu, Karlstad University, Service Research Center, Sweden Assistant Professor Maria Gianni, International Hellenic University in Serres, Greece	Rettorato
17:00 – 18:00	INAUGURATION OF IAQUIS 2026 Institutional Greetings at the Aula Magna of Palazzo degli Elefanti Professor Enrico Foti – Rector of the University of Catania Professor Sebastiano Mazzù – Director of the Department of Economics, University of Catania Professor Agata Matarazzo – President of IAQUIS 2026 Organizing Committee Professor Alessandro Ruggieri – President of IAQUIS Scientific Committee Professor Maria Francesca Renzi – President of AISME	Aula Magna, Palazzo degli Elefanti
19:30	Light Dinner	Palazzo degli Elefanti

September 17th, Thursday

Location: Palazzo delle Scienze

Time	Session
09:30 – 11:00	Chair: Maria Francesca Renzi – Full Professor, Roma Tre University 1. Professor Dr. Yogesh K. Dwivedi, Swansea University, Wales, UK “Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability: Emerging Academic Discourses” 2. Professor Samuel Petros Sebhatu, Karlstad University CTF “Beyond ESG Reporting: Business Transformation and Responsibility Across Supply Chains” 3. Practitioner: Cpt. Stelios Dimouleas, CEO of ALMI Tankers “ESG culture – what do we mean?”
11:00 – 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 – 13:15	11:15 – 13:15 PARALLEL SESSIONS – SUSTAINABILITY
13:15 – 14:30	Light Lunch
14:30 – 16:00	Quality Plenary Session *“Quality Management for Operational Excellence: Models, Standards and Contextual Perspectives”* 1. Professor Angelos Pantouvakis, University of Piraeus 2. Practitioner: Maria Möllerskov Jonzon, Business Performance Leader at IKEA
16:00 – 16:15	Coffee Break
16:15 – 18:15	Parallel Session
20:30	Gala Dinner Grand Hotel Baia Verde

September 18th, Friday

Location: Palazzo delle Scienze

Time	Session
09:00 – 10:30	Innovation Plenary Session *“Innovation ecosystems: governance, collaboration and value creation processes in the era of AI and digital technologies”* 1. Professor Bo Edvardsson, Karlstad University CTF 2. Professor Dominik Mahr, Maastricht University 3. Practitioner: Marie Carlsson, International Key Account Director of Volvo Trucks
10:30 – 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 – 12:45	Parallel Session
12:45 – 13:30	Closing Ceremony and Award Presentation (Aula Magna)
13:30 – 14:30	Closing Lunch