Rethinking Work in an Unbounded World: Challenges and Opportunities for Individuals and Teams
2026-03-20 09:30 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
On behalf of Professors Sumita Raghuram and Elisa Mattarelli, we are pleased to invite you to attend an LCOB School of Management and U.S. National Science Foundation sponsored one-day academic workshop:
Rethinking Work in an Unbounded World: Challenges and Opportunities for Individuals and Teams
This one-day academic workshop brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine contemporary changes in work and collaboration, with particular attention to the role of technology and AI in shaping individual and team experiences.
Speakers & Panelists:
Ellen E. Kossek – Purdue University & Stanford University
Petros Chamakiotis – ESCP Business School, Spain
Jennifer Gibbs – University of California, Santa Barbara
Terri Grifth – Simon Fraser University, Canada
Elisa Mattarelli – San José State University
Bhavna Hariharan – San José State University
Sara Winterstorm – LinkedIn
Prachee Jain – Denso
Please sign up by March 10th here:
REGISTER NOW >

Quarterly Welcome of New Participants
2026-04-08 05:00 - 05:30
On Wednesday April 8th, new ISSIP participants are invited to join a zoom meetings to introduce themselves to each others. All ISSIP participants are also welcome to join to meet new participants. Everyone is welcome to share their give-get-grow professional development plans, whether its to give as a volunteer service role, get new skills or knowledge, or grow a larger network of colleagues. The host will be Vaishali Mane, ISSIP Quarterly Welcome Event Leader, along with Jim Spohrer, ISSIP Co-founding Board Director and Michele Carroll, ISSIP Executive Director.

When: Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Time A: 5am PT, 7am CT, 8am ET, 14:00 CET, 21:00 Singapore
Time B: 5:30pm PT, 7:30pm CT, 8:30pm PT, 2:00 CET, +1day 9:00 Singapore

All who register will be sent recording link after the event.
Zoom link will be emailed out 30 minutes before event.

Register here >

IHIET-AI 2026 Conference - Valencia, Spain
2026-04-23 - 2026-04-25
You are cordially invited to submit an abstract for paper presentation or poster demonstration at the 16th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies: Future Applications (IHIET-AI 2026) which will be held at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, April 23-25, 2026. (https://www.ihiet-ai.org).
The scientific and technical program looking great and available online: https://www.ihiet-ai.org/program.html
IHIET-AI 2026 will be attended by more than 300 researcher and professional from 22 countries.

Abstract Submissions Extended Deadline (500 words): 6 February 2026 [11:00pm PST]
Submission System: (New Users? Sign up): https://www.ihiet-ai.org/submission.html

There is still time to submit late-breaking reseaerch progress. The submission deadline is approaching quickly!
The conference aims to provide a global forum for presenting and discussing novel human-computer and system interaction approaches, and emerging technologies, methodologies and solutions for interaction between people and systems.
Peer-review accepted full papers will be published as chapters in the IHIET Open Access edited proceedings books and approved for SCOPUS and Google Scholar indexing.
We are looking forward welcoming you to IHIET-AI in Valencia, Spain!

TShape Development - ISSIP Speaker Series
2026-05-13 09:00 - 10:00
Next Upcoming Event
When: Wednesday May 13th, 2026 (Kick-off 2026 Series)
Times (USA PT/ET, Europe CET, Australia AEST): 9am PT/12noon ET, 18:00 CET, 0:200 AEST
Series Topic and Host
On 2nd Wednesday of each month, all those interested in T-Shaped Development are invited to this series of interviews, talks, and panels. Jim Spohrer and Lou Freund are co-hosts. The kick-off (May 13) agenda will include discussion of the purpose of the series, introduction of attendees, review of candidate upcoming talks, and brief presentation of AI-Powered MyTShape.com development platform, and exploration of user community growth goals, and possible open-source developer community growth goals. Jim and Lou are compiling representative publications of future speakers in the series. Each speaker will include a brief discussion of past work, as well as future goals and plans for the community to know about and potential help each with in the spirit of give-get-grow community development. This ISSIP Speaker Series is a platform for all those interested in T-Shaped professional research, education, and practice.
Past Events:
Past Event: Lou Freund’s AHFE HSSE Conference Presentation (recording)
Register to get recording, slides, reminders:
All who register will be sent recording link after the event.
Zoom link will be emailed out 30 minutes before event.
Register below by including your email address and submitting the form.
BE SURE TO ADD YOUR EMAIL AND CLICK ON SUBMIT BUTTON BELOW (SCROLL TO BOTTOM OF FORM)

The Spring Servitization Conference & Doctoral Symposium
2026-05-18 - 2026-05-20 | Bochum, Germany
SSC2026 | Servitization as a Multilevel Transformation: Business Models, People, Organisations, and Ecosystems

The Spring Servitization Conference (SSC2026) is dedicated to understanding how organisations develop and adapt their business models through servitization and advanced services. The 2026 conference will be held in Bochum, Germany, with the overall theme of ‘Servitization as a Multilevel Transformation: Business Models, People, Organisations, and Ecosystems’. The conference will bring together the world’s leading researchers, practitioners and doctoral students to debate and engage with the theory and practice of servitization.
SSC2026 will comprise the Servitization Doctoral Symposium (Monday 18 May) and the main Spring Servitization Conference (Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May). On Monday 18 May, we will host our doctoral symposium for PhD students whose research focuses on topics related to servitization (including Product-Service Systems, services-centric business models, and service-dominant logic, etc.).
On Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May, we will follow the established format of a single stream where contributors have an opportunity to present to the whole conference audience and engage in both structured and semi-structured panel sessions to discuss their work. The programme is designed to encourage extensive debate and bridge research theory and industrial practice. The conference will also feature keynote addresses from senior executives of leading manufacturing businesses. We will also dedicate some sessions to the early-stage research, which comprises interactive keynotes by leading academics in the field, debates around emergent research themes, and poster reviews of proposed projects and doctoral research. A certificate of attendance will be provided on request after the conference by email to the conference organising team.

Register here >

For-Fee Credentials and Curriculum Planning and Development
2026-05-20 07:00 - 08:00
On the 3rd Wednesday of Every Month in 2026, ISSIP leaders will be convening the ISSIP For-Fee Credentials and Curriculum Planning and Development – Cadence Meetings. All ISSIP participants are also welcome to join to discuss their favorite service innovation topics (tools & methods, etc.) The co-hosts are Haluk Demirkan, Andrea Biancini, and Jim Spohrer (co-host of cadence calls).
When: Third Wednesday of the Month in 2026
Time: 7am PT, 9am CT, 10am ET, 16:00 CET, 23:00 Singapore
REGISTER HERE >

AI as a Service Series
2026-05-20 13:00 - 14:00
AI as a Service Series
Chair – Cecilia Lee
Next Event: May 20, 1pm PT – Jim Spohrer Interview – (register here)
Upcoming event
When: Wednesday, May 20th, 2026
Time: USA PT/ET 13:00/16:00, Europe CET 22:00 CET, Asia Singapore 7:00
Chair: Cecilia Lee (ISSIP Ambassador)
Speaker(s): Jim Spohrer
All those interested in “AI as a Service” are invited to the kick-off event of a series of interviews, panels, talks. Cecilia has asked Jim Spohrer to kick-off the series and to answer the following questions:
– What is your definition of AI-as-a-Service?
– How can we understand this concept from a value co-creation perspective?
– How AI practitioners see this and how this concept may manifest within an organisation that is going through a rapid transformation driven by AI?
– AI-as-a-Service enables and accelerates innovation vs. enables a seamless AI integration into organisations and helps them build AI-centered strategic competence?
– The evolution of AI in business and our society so far, and how it is related back to the concept of AI-as-a-Service, value co-creation and AI smart service ecosystem?
Jim will also provide his perspective on Bek (2026) Services: The New Software in the AI era.
(register here)

ISSIP Live!
2026-05-29 07:00 - 08:00
ISSIP Live! Is our new video livecast and you’re invited to join us. Our first episode will feature ISSIP pioneer Jim Spohrer talking about the ISSIP Origin Story and what it means to him. Jim will be interviewed by ISSIP Live! host and program creator Kevin Clark
…and there will be time for questions and comments from you!
Join us Friday 29 May at 10 AM ET – 11 AM ET on ISSIP Zoom
Register Here

AI as a Service - Series Event
2026-06-03 09:30 - 10:30
Upcoming event
When: Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026
Time: (USA PT/ET, Europe CET, Asia Singapore) 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET, 18:30 CET, +1Day 4:30 Asia Singapore
On Wednesday June 3rd, all those interested in “AI as a Service” are invited to the kick-off event of a series of interviews, panels, talks. Cecilia Lee (ISSIP Ambassador) will host this series. Cecilia has asked Jim Spohrer to kick-off the series and to answer the following questions:

What is your definition of AI-as-a-Service?
How can we understand this concept from a value co-creation perspective?
How AI practitioners see this and how this concept may manifest within an organisation that is going through a rapid transformation driven by AI?
AI-as-a-Service enables and accelerates innovation vs. enables a seamless AI integration into organisations and helps them build AI-centred strategic competence?
The evolution of AI in business and our society so far, and how it is related back to the concept of AI-as-a-Service, value co-creation and AI smart service ecosystem?

Jim will also provide his perspective on Bek (2026) Services: The New Software In the AI era.
REGISTER HERE >

MyTShape Series
2026-06-10 09:00 - 10:00
The second Wednesday of the Month at 9am PT “3. MyTShape Series” also known as “T-Shape Development – ISSIP Speaker Series” (register)
Series Topic and Hosts
On 2nd Wednesday of each month, all those interested in T-Shaped Development are invited to this series of interviews, talks, and panels. Jim Spohrer and Lou Freund are co-hosts. The kick-off agenda included a discussion of the purpose of the series, introduction of attendees, review of candidate upcoming talks, and brief presentation of AI-Powered MyTShape.com development platform, and exploration of user community growth goals, and possible open-source developer community growth goals. Jim and Lou are compiling representative publications of future speakers in the series. Each speaker will include a brief discussion of past work, as well as future goals and plans for the community to know about and potential help each with in the spirit of give-get-grow community development. This ISSIP Speaker Series is a platform for all those interested in T-Shaped professional research, education, and practice.
Co-Chairs: Lou Freund and Jim Spohrer
Designed as a forum for the global T-shaped research and publishing community for sharing their activities, and learning about the MyTShape.com platform in the process. Each event will feature expert speakers, with moderator, allow discussion and last one hour.
June 10, 2026:
Speakers Prof. Leonard Walletzky’s Group’s Efforts – A T-Shaped Model for Rethinking Higher Education Programs

ISSIP Live!
2026-06-19 07:00 - 08:00
ISSIP Live! is where service science comes alive.
Watch the video recording here >
Creator & Host: Kevin Clark
Sponsor Content Evolution / Platform UX
The International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) is pleased to announce that Don Norman, CEO of Don Norman Design Award (DNDA), which earlier this year won ISSIP’s Excellence in Service Innovation for Impact to Society, will be the featured guest on ISSIP Live! June 19th, at 10am EST. Click here to register for the Don Norman event.
A bit about Don Norman:
Don Norman is now busily engaged in his 5th retirement, busy helping run his charity, the Don Norman Design Award and Summit (@DNDA). The goal of DNDA is to promote Humanity-Centered Design (HCD+) among early career professionals, educational groups, and the world. See https://dnda.design. Don was the founding Director of The Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego, is co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, retired but an active board member, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and former VP of Apple. His latest work expands the notion of being human centered to consider the impact upon the environment, upon all cultures, and upon quality of life: Humanity centered. This is explained in his latest book “Design for a Better world: Meaningful, sustainable, humanity centered.” https://jnd.org/books/design-for-a-better-world/
Every month, the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals, or ISSIP as it is known, brings together leading practitioners, authors, innovators, and thought leaders for a live, interactive conversation focused on service science and the future of service innovation. The first half of each session features expert guests sharing insights and real-world experience; the second half opens the floor to questions and discussion from the ISSIP community itself.
Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, executive, entrepreneur, or student, ISSIP Live! offers a unique opportunity to learn from the people shaping the field, engage directly with experts, and stay current on emerging ideas and next practices in service science.
Even if you can’t attend live, the episode replays on the ISSIP You Tube channel to provide an ongoing library of thought leadership and practical insight you can access anytime.
For organizations and patrons, sponsoring ISSIP Live! is an opportunity to align your brand with a global community of innovators, demonstrate leadership in service science, and gain visibility among professionals who are actively shaping the future of services, technology, and human-centered interaction innovation. ISSIP Live! isn’t just a livecast—it’s a growing knowledge exchange and community platform for advancing the discipline of service innovation.
REGISTER HERE >
UPCOMING EVENTS
June 19: Don Norman – Don Norman Design Award (2026 ISSIP Impact to Society Awardee)
July 17, 2026: Tentative, Markus Warg – Translational Service Research and Design Methodology (TSRDM)
August: Break
September: Haluk Demirkan Perspectives TBD (2026 ISSIP Inaugural Founders Mentoring Medal Awardee)
October: TBD
November: Yassi Moghaddam TBD
December: Break
PAST EVENTS
May 29: Jim Spohrer (recording) (presentation)
REGISTER HERE >

ISSIP Progress Update with Board: All Welcome!
2026-06-24 12:00 - 12:30
The final Wednesday of the month of January and June are always reserved for the twice annual ISSIP Presidents’ Progress Update with Board of Directors: Everyone Welcome! update zoom meeting. All ISSIP participants are welcome to join in, and Board members provide their perspectives and priorities at the end of the one hour online meeting.
What: ISSIP Progress & Board of Directors Update
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Time: 12noon PT, 3pm ET, 20:00 CET, 04:00 Tokyo
Who can attend: All ISSIP community participants are welcome to attend.
Register here >

2026 Frontiers In Service
2026-06-29 - 2026-07-02 | Helsinki, Finland
The Frontiers in Service Conference is the world’s leading annual event for service research. In 2026, the conference will be hosted by the Hanken School of Economics in the heart of Helsinki from June 29 to July 2, bringing together top scholars and thought leaders to explore the future of service.
Frontiers in Service – Helsinki

The Frontiers in Service Conference is widely regarded as the world’s premier international gathering for advancing service research and innovation. Since its founding in 1992 by Roland Rust—a Distinguished University Professor and David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing at the University of Maryland—the conference has grown into a vibrant, multidisciplinary forum that attracts scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders from over 40 countries.
It provides a dynamic platform for sharing cutting-edge insights and fostering collaboration across a broad spectrum of service-related fields, including technology-enabled service, customer experience, service management, and sustainability. The event emphasizes both academic rigor and practical relevance, encouraging the exchange of ideas that drive innovation and enhance the impact of service research on business and society. In addition to its extensive program of presentations and discussions, the conference offers specialized workshops and doctoral consortia designed to support emerging researchers, nurturing the next generation of thought leaders in service science.
The Frontiers in Service Conference is proudly sponsored by INFORMS, the American Marketing Association’s Service Special Interest Group (SERVSIG), and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland, reflecting its strong institutional foundations and global reach.
Conference theme

The 2026 conference theme will be “Serving with SISU: Sustainability, Inclusion, and Societal Uplift”
SISU is the Finnish ethos of steady determination, resilient spirit, and the courage to move forward with heart in the face of complex challenges and uncertainty. It invites attendees to reflect on how service can meet the challenges of our time — and shape more sustainable, inclusive, and human-centered futures.
Key dates

Paper submission opens: November 1, 2025
Submission deadline: December 1, 2025
Notification of acceptance: TBC
Early-bird registration deadline: TBC
Conference dates: June 29 – July 2
Doctoral Consortium June 28 – 29

Quarterly Welcome of New Participants
2026-07-08 05:00 - 05:30
On Wednesday July 8th, new ISSIP participants are invited to join a zoom meetings to introduce themselves to each others. All ISSIP participants are also welcome to join to meet new participants. Everyone is welcome to share their give-get-grow professional development plans, whether its to give as a volunteer service role, get new skills or knowledge, or grow a larger network of colleagues. The host will be Vaishali Mane, ISSIP Quarterly Welcome Event Leader, along with Jim Spohrer, ISSIP Co-founding Board Director and Michele Carroll, ISSIP Executive Director.
When: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Time A: 5am PT, 7am CT, 8am ET, 14:00 CET, 21:00 Singapore
Time B: 5:30pm PT, 7:30pm CT, 8:30pm PT, 2:00 CET, +1day 9:00 Singapore
All who register will be sent recording link after the event.
Zoom link will be emailed out 30 minutes before event.
Register here >

MyTShape Series
2026-07-08 09:00 - 10:00
The second Wednesday of the Month at 9am PT “3. MyTShape Series” also known as “T-Shape Development – ISSIP Speaker Series” (register)
Co-Chairs: Lou Freund and Jim Spohrer
Designed as a forum for the global T-shaped research and publishing community for sharing their activities, and learning about the MyTShape.com platform in the process. Each event will feature expert speakers, with moderator, allow discussion and last one hour.

Thanks again to Klara Kuickova for sharing a great T-Shaped Market Insights presentation and recorded talk.
On August 12th, we will hear from two speakers – Juha Saukkonen (NextGen T-shaped Models Exploration) and Patrik Prochazka (TShaped Curriculum Recommendations)
Please feel free to share this email and this registration link with colleagues who are interested in promoting T-Shaped Development.
Please sign up to speak if you plan to do so (email spohrer@gmail.com your preferred month, presentations are on the second Wednesday of each month).
Past Events:
July 8, 2026: Klara Kubickova, The Role of T-shape in ERP Enterprises: A case study (recording) (presentation)
June 10, 2026 – Speakers Prof. Leonard Walletzky’s Group’s Efforts – A T-Shaped Model for Rethinking Higher Education Programs (recording)
May 13, 2026: Speaker Lou Freund – AI-Powered MyTShape.com Platform (deck) (publication) (recording)
May 13, 2026: General Discussion – T-Shaped Development Series Intro & Purpose (deck) (recording)
Past Event: Lou Freund’s AHFE HSSE Conference Presentation (recording)
Upcoming Events
August 12, 2026:
Speaker 1: Juha Saukkonen – T-shaped Capabilities of the next Generation: Prospecting for an Improved Model
Speaker 2: Patrik Prochazka – Concept of Multi-Centroid Graph Traversal for Explainable T-Shaped Curriculum Recommendation
September 9, 2026: Francesco Caputo – Building T-shaped professionals for mastering digital transformation
October 14, 2026: TBD
November 11, 2026: *** SPECIAL Roundtable Discussion (1 Hour Session) *** SPECIAL
December 9, 2026: Jim Spohrer – From 2T-Model (Disciplines & Systems) to 3T-Model (+Geographies/Cultures) to the ISSIP 6T-Model (+Advanced Technologies, +Work Practices, +Mindsets) based on ISSIP-NSF Future of STEM Report
January 13, 2027: TBD
February 10, 2027: TBD
March 10, 2027: Marialuisa Saviano – A T-Shaped Model for Rethinking Higher Education Programs
April 14, 2027: TBD
… then we will see…

ISSIP Live! - POSTPONED
2026-07-17 07:00 - 08:00
ISSIP Live! is where service science comes alive.
Creator & Host: Kevin Clark
Sponsor Content Evolution / Platform UX
Every month, the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals, or ISSIP as it is known, brings together leading practitioners, authors, innovators, and thought leaders for a live, interactive conversation focused on service science and the future of service innovation. The first half of each session features expert guests sharing insights and real-world experience; the second half opens the floor to questions and discussion from the ISSIP community itself.
Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, executive, entrepreneur, or student, ISSIP Live! offers a unique opportunity to learn from the people shaping the field, engage directly with experts, and stay current on emerging ideas and next practices in service science.
Even if you can’t attend live, the episode replays on the ISSIP You Tube channel to provide an ongoing library of thought leadership and practical insight you can access anytime.
For organizations and patrons, sponsoring ISSIP Live! is an opportunity to align your brand with a global community of innovators, demonstrate leadership in service science, and gain visibility among professionals who are actively shaping the future of services, technology, and human-centered interaction innovation. ISSIP Live! isn’t just a livecast—it’s a growing knowledge exchange and community platform for advancing the discipline of service innovation.
REGISTER HERE >
UPCOMING EVENTS
July 17, 2026: Markus Warg – Translational Service Research and Design Methodology (TSRDM)
August: Break
September: Haluk Demirkan Perspectives TBD (2026 ISSIP Inaugural Founders Mentoring Medal Awardee)
October: TBD
November: Yassi Moghaddam TBD
December: Break
PAST EVENTS
May 29: Jim Spohrer (recording) (presentation)
June 19: Don Norman – Don Norman Design Award (2026 ISSIP Impact to Society Awardee)
REGISTER HERE >

AHFE 2026 International Conference
2026-07-20 - 2026-07-24 | Istanbul, Turkey
The Human Side of Service Engineering (HSSE) Conference is organized within the framework of the International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) as an Affiliated Conference.
IIf there is any one element to the engineering of service systems that is unique, it is the extent to which the suitability of the system for human use, human service, and excellent human experience has been and must always be considered.
HSSE explores the wide range of ways in which Human Factors Engineering, Ergonomics, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Usability Testing, Attitude and Opinion Assessment, Servicescape Designs and Evaluations, Cognitive Engineering, Psychometrics, Training for Service Delivery, Co-Production and Co-Creation of Value, Service Levels and Cost Effectiveness, Call Center Engineering, Customer Support Engineering, and many other possible areas relate to and impact the Engineering and Management of Service Organizations.
In 2023, sessions relating to AI & Digital Transformation, Health Care & Education, Culture & Innovation, Transportation & Communications, Infrastructure & Energy, Banking & Finance, Retail & Hospitality, Economics & Legal, and Government & Public Policy, Sustainability & Quality of Life at all levels, along with many other fields will be included.
Areas of Interest include, but are not limited to those listed here:

Multi-disciplinary approaches in service research
Cognitive Systems modeling of Service Systems (Digital Twins)
Co-production, Co-creation of Value, Social Impact & Engagement
UX Research Methods for HSSE
Knowledge Sciences & Service Science in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence & Smarter, Wiser Service Systems
Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Service Innovation
Augmenting, Virtual & Metaverse Reality as Service Systems
Future of Work & Digital Transformation of Service Systems
Talent, Skills, T-Shaped Professionals and Life-Long Learning
Adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT)
Digital Transformation in Human-Centered Service Systems
Sustainability, Resilience & Quality of Life
Empowering Citizens & Digital Governance Transformation
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Service System
Ethics, Privacy & Trust in the Era of Big Data and AI
Anthropology in Service Science
Context-related Service: The Human Aspect of Service Systems
Governance of Service Systems
Human Aspects of Change When Applying Agile and Lean Six Sigma Methods and Tools
Human-Centered Intelligence Systems
Human Side of Service-Dominant Logic
Service Design & Innovation
Service design in the AI, AR/VR & Metaverse
Service Management, Operations & Marketing
Social Media, Gamification and Service Strategy & Marketing
Service System Standards
Open Service Communities: Open Source, Open Innovation, Online Communities (e.g., GitHub, Wikipedia), & Social Sector Innovation

ISSIP Live!
2026-07-31 07:00 - 08:00
ISSIP Live! is where service science comes alive.
Kevin Clark interview Markus Warg, author of the 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 (𝙏𝙎𝙍𝘿𝙈)
To be presented at HSSE in Turkey THIS MONTH. HSSE CONF July 20-24. Co-authors include ISSIP board members Jim Spohrer and Jens Neuheüttler.
As with all ISSIP Live! Single hour sessions, the first half will be an interview by Kevin Clark of Dr. Markus Warg, and the second half will open for questions from your good selves. Please join in!
Learn more about the TSRDM Initiative here.
Read Markus Warg post on LinkedIn to like and share.
REGISTER HERE >
Every month, the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals, or ISSIP as it is known, brings together leading practitioners, authors, innovators, and thought leaders for a live, interactive conversation focused on service science and the future of service innovation. The first half of each session features expert guests sharing insights and real-world experience; the second half opens the floor to questions and discussion from the ISSIP community itself.
Whether you’re a researcher, practitioner, executive, entrepreneur, or student, ISSIP Live! offers a unique opportunity to learn from the people shaping the field, engage directly with experts, and stay current on emerging ideas and next practices in service science.
Even if you can’t attend live, the episode replays on the ISSIP You Tube channel to provide an ongoing library of thought leadership and practical insight you can access anytime.
For organizations and patrons, sponsoring ISSIP Live! is an opportunity to align your brand with a global community of innovators, demonstrate leadership in service science, and gain visibility among professionals who are actively shaping the future of services, technology, and human-centered interaction innovation. ISSIP Live! isn’t just a livecast—it’s a growing knowledge exchange and community platform for advancing the discipline of service innovation.
REGISTER HERE >

MyTShape Series
2026-08-12 09:00 - 10:00
The second Wednesday of the Month at 9am PT “3. MyTShape Series” also known as “T-Shape Development – ISSIP Speaker Series” (register)
Series Topic and Hosts
On 2nd Wednesday of each month, all those interested in T-Shaped Development are invited to this series of interviews, talks, and panels. Jim Spohrer and Lou Freund are co-hosts. The kick-off agenda included a discussion of the purpose of the series, introduction of attendees, review of candidate upcoming talks, and brief presentation of AI-Powered MyTShape.com development platform, and exploration of user community growth goals, and possible open-source developer community growth goals. Jim and Lou are compiling representative publications of future speakers in the series. Each speaker will include a brief discussion of past work, as well as future goals and plans for the community to know about and potential help each with in the spirit of give-get-grow community development. This ISSIP Speaker Series is a platform for all those interested in T-Shaped professional research, education, and practice.
Co-Chairs: Lou Freund and Jim Spohrer
Designed as a forum for the global T-shaped research and publishing community for sharing their activities, and learning about the MyTShape.com platform in the process. Each event will feature expert speakers, with moderator, allow discussion and last one hour.
August 12
Speaker 1: Juha Saukkonen – T-shaped Capabilities of the next Generation: Prospecting for an Improved Model
Speaker 2: Patrik Prochazka – Concept of Multi-Centroid Graph Traversal for Explainable T-Shaped Curriculum Recommendation

AI as a Service Series
2026-08-19 09:30 - 10:30
August 19, 2026
Paresh Thakare
Agentic AI and Organisational Design: A service design perspective
Time: 17:30 London, 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET UA, 18:30 CET, +1Day 4:30 Asia Singapore

What is your definition of AI-as-a-Service?
How can we understand this concept from a value co-creation perspective?
How AI practitioners see this and how this concept may manifest within an organisation that is going through a rapid transformation driven by AI?
AI-as-a-Service enables and accelerates innovation vs. enables a seamless AI integration into organisations and helps them build AI-centred strategic competence?
The evolution of AI in business and our society so far, and how it is related back to the concept of AI-as-a-Service, value co-creation and AI smart service ecosystem?

MyTShape Series
2026-09-09 09:00 - 10:00
The second Wednesday of the Month at 9am PT “3. MyTShape Series” also known as “T-Shape Development – ISSIP Speaker Series” (register)
Series Topic and Hosts
On 2nd Wednesday of each month, all those interested in T-Shaped Development are invited to this series of interviews, talks, and panels. Jim Spohrer and Lou Freund are co-hosts. The kick-off agenda included a discussion of the purpose of the series, introduction of attendees, review of candidate upcoming talks, and brief presentation of AI-Powered MyTShape.com development platform, and exploration of user community growth goals, and possible open-source developer community growth goals. Jim and Lou are compiling representative publications of future speakers in the series. Each speaker will include a brief discussion of past work, as well as future goals and plans for the community to know about and potential help each with in the spirit of give-get-grow community development. This ISSIP Speaker Series is a platform for all those interested in T-Shaped professional research, education, and practice.
Co-Chairs: Lou Freund and Jim Spohrer
Designed as a forum for the global T-shaped research and publishing community for sharing their activities, and learning about the MyTShape.com platform in the process. Each event will feature expert speakers, with moderator, allow discussion and last one hour.
September 9, 2026:
Francesco Caputo – A T-Shaped Model for Rethinking Higher Education Programs

Quarterly Welcome of New Participants
2026-10-14 05:00 - 05:30
On Wednesday October 14th, new ISSIP participants are invited to join a zoom meetings to introduce themselves to each others. All ISSIP participants are also welcome to join to meet new participants. Everyone is welcome to share their give-get-grow professional development plans, whether its to give as a volunteer service role, get new skills or knowledge, or grow a larger network of colleagues. The host will be Vaishali Mane, ISSIP Quarterly Welcome Event Leader, along with Jim Spohrer, ISSIP Co-founding Board Director and Michele Carroll, ISSIP Executive Director.
When: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Time A: 5am PT, 7am CT, 8am ET, 14:00 CET, 21:00 Singapore
Time B: 5:30pm PT, 7:30pm CT, 8:30pm PT, 2:00 CET, +1day 9:00 Singapore
All who register will be sent recording link after the event.
Zoom link will be emailed out 30 minutes before event.
Register here >

Discovery Summit 2026
2026-10-21
Topic: Perspective on Responsible AI and the Future of Work and Skills.

When: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Start Time: 7:30am PT, 9:30am CT, 10:30am ET, 16:30 CET, 22:30 Singapore
Speakers, panelists, discussants, etc

Welcome
Christine Ouyang
Event Chair
ISSIP Vice President
1st Hour
Perspective on Responsible AI and the Future of Work and Skills

Parminder Jassal

Kevin Clark

Kyle Shannon

2nd Hour
Creating a Future We All Want: Building Resilient Communities
David Bray Zoom link will be emailed out 30 minutes before event.
All who register will be sent recording link after the event.

AAAI Fall Symposia
2026-11-06 - 2026-11-08 | Arlington, VA
The AAAI Fall Symposium series is usually held on the east coast during late October or early November. The series affords participants a smaller, more intimate setting where they can share ideas and learn from each other’s artificial intelligence research.
Topics for the symposia change each year, and the limited seating capacity and relaxed atmosphere allow for workshop like interaction. The Fall Symposium series is usually held on the east coast during late October or early November.

International Conference on Industry of the Future and Smart Manufacturing
2026-11-10 - 2026-11-14 | Venice, Italy
About The Event
The International Conference on Industry of the Future and Smart Manufacturing (ISM) is a yearly open forum fostering the smart culture and exploring the transformative impact of digital technologies characterizing the 4th industrial revolution across the full breadth of economic sectors.
The manufacturing community is leading a series of world-class breakthroughs driven by the convergence of physical and digital spaces, operational excellence and human-automation symbiosis that are intimately changing the profile and behavior of socio-technical ecosystems at all levels of public and private sectors.
To support this transition, ISM promotes the cross-fertilization of multidisciplinary knowledge bringing together a global community of eminent academics, research innovators, professionals, leaders and policy makers committed to build more efficient, agile, safe, sustainable and ethical systems; encourages the dissemination of the latest scientific advances, research results and industrial stories to strengthen the theoretical base of Industry 4.0/5.0; and provides a stimulating ground for business-to-science cooperation opportunities.

MyTShape Series
2027-03-10 09:00 - 10:00
The second Wednesday of the Month at 9am PT “3. MyTShape Series” also known as “T-Shape Development – ISSIP Speaker Series” (register)
Series Topic and Hosts
On 2nd Wednesday of each month, all those interested in T-Shaped Development are invited to this series of interviews, talks, and panels. Jim Spohrer and Lou Freund are co-hosts. The kick-off agenda included a discussion of the purpose of the series, introduction of attendees, review of candidate upcoming talks, and brief presentation of AI-Powered MyTShape.com development platform, and exploration of user community growth goals, and possible open-source developer community growth goals. Jim and Lou are compiling representative publications of future speakers in the series. Each speaker will include a brief discussion of past work, as well as future goals and plans for the community to know about and potential help each with in the spirit of give-get-grow community development. This ISSIP Speaker Series is a platform for all those interested in T-Shaped professional research, education, and practice.
Co-Chairs: Lou Freund and Jim Spohrer
Designed as a forum for the global T-shaped research and publishing community for sharing their activities, and learning about the MyTShape.com platform in the process. Each event will feature expert speakers, with moderator, allow discussion and last one hour.
March 10, 2027:
Marialuisa Saviano – A T-Shaped Model for Rethinking Higher Education Programs
