Dear Colleagues,
The Small Business Institute (SBI) invites submissions for its 50th Annual Conference, to be held April 8–11, 2026, at the Luminary Hotel & Co. in Fort Myers, Florida. This milestone event—#SBI50: Honoring Our Past, Inspiring Our Future—celebrates five decades of leadership in experiential learning, applied research, and entrepreneurship education.
For fifty years, SBI has been the premier provider of professional development for those engaged in student team consulting, entrepreneurship pedagogy, and small business research. As we commemorate our 50th anniversary, we also look ahead to the next generation of innovation and impact in small business education.
We invite submissions across the following categories:
- Competitive Papers and Abstracts
- Innovative Pedagogy
- Workshops and Panels
- SBDC/SBTDC Best Practices
- Roundtables
Special #SBI50 features will include:
- A historical showcase of SBI milestones and member impact
- A reimagined Innovative Pedagogy Competition
- The return of Project of the Year (POY), spotlighting student consulting excellence
- A Ph.D. Student and Early Career Faculty Development Workshop
Key Dates:
- Submission Deadline: November 14, 2025
- Acceptance Notification: January 23, 2026
- Early Registration Deadline: March 6, 2026
Join us in Fort Myers as we celebrate the past and shape the future of small business and entrepreneurship education.
Let’s honor where we’ve been—and envision what’s next.
Submit your proposals here:
🔗 https://www.smallbusinessinstitute.biz/page-1257733
For questions, please contact:
Steve Childers, Vice President of Programs, Radford University – jchilders2@radford.edu
Sara MacSween, Vice President of Programs-Elect, UNC Greensboro – sbmacswe@uncg.edu
We look forward to welcoming you to #SBI50—where we honor our legacy and inspire the future of entrepreneurship education.
Warm regards,
Small Business Institute (SBI) Conference Committee