Diversified and interdisciplinary research that inspires

RISEBA - a financially sustainable, internationally recognised UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY
RISEBA, a strongly research-led university, is about commitment and excellence in both research and education. Over the last two decades research at RISEBA has undergone considerable growth and now has reached a stage of notable diversity and internationalisation covering both in-depth specialisation and interdisciplinary innovative approaches in social and economic sciences, entrepreneurship, communications, arts and architecture.
The mission of RISEBA research is “to promote the recognition of RISEBA in the European and international research field through mutual cooperation between faculty and students; RISEBA is to bridge the gap between academic environment and business through collaborative research projects and various research partnerships at regional, national and international levels”.

Research fields
Within business and economics, art, communication and architecture sciences, research is carried out in a number of different fields, such as:
    •    Strategic Management, Public Governance, Strategic Business IT
    •    Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship, Innovation Management, Creativity and Innovation, Business Ethics and Sustainability
    •    Economics, Finance and Banking
    •    Research into Creative Industries, Latvian audio-visual industry in transition
    •    Architecture in transition towards new hybrid urban typologies
    •    Social media, Marketing, Public Relations and Communications.

Research pyramids
At RISEBA research is carried out through a number of individual projects as well as in research groups called Pyramids for Research. Each "pyramid” in the fields of focused research is led by a professor and includes 2-3 academic faculty members, doctoral students, master and bachelor students working together. The researchers in the pyramid come from different fields such as Business, Economics, Arts, Communications and Architecture to the full potential of interdisciplinary research. The ambition is to develop a research model that will increase the amount of high quality research conducted by RISEBA researchers, facilitate excellence in teaching and make an outstanding contribution to the quality of student learning.

Recent international research projects
At RISEBA research is carried out in close collaboration with international partners, such as Agder University (Norway), BUW Wuppertal (Germany), COTEC (Portugal), Emerald Group Publishing Limited (UK), Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge (UK), Laurea University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Queen's University Belfast (UK), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway), the University of Salford (UK), Universidad Miguel Hernandez (Spain), and many others.
Recent RISEBA international research projects include:

• CAL4INO: Creative Activities in Learning for Innovation (2010 – 2013);
• DEPICT: Developing Employability Programmes Using Interactive Technologies (2012 – 2014).

RISEBA applied research activities are focused on specific areas of expertise within the university, such as social entrepreneurship, administrative burden, experience economy, etc. Recent applied research projects include:

• Economic Impact Assessment of Bioethanol Production in Latvia (2011);
• Potential for Latvian – Turkish Cooperation on the Fields of Economic Development and Trade: Feasibility of Transport Routes and Latvian Transit Capability (2011-2012);
• Expert services for career assessment methodology according to the ESF project “State Employment Agency's capacity building” (2011 – 2013);
• Eco-SUP-Port: Sustainable Business for SMEs in European Harbours (2012 – 2014).

RISEBA conferences  and publications
RISEBA University College is keen to support academic staff in their research activities: staff members are encouraged to become more involved in research through new projects, resources, training courses and workshops; financial assistance and bonuses are provided for participation in international research conferences and publications in internationally recognised journals.
In cooperation with BA School of Business and Finance and Ventspils University College RISEBA hosts annual international research conferences, which gather together dozens of professors, PhD students, policy makers and practitioners, to share latest research experience, find applicable solutions to existing problems and foster international collaboration.
In 2014 April RISEBA hosts the 7th annual international research conference “Business and Uncertainty: Challenges for Emerging Markets”.
As part of CAL4INO Project activities, in November 2013 RISEBA led the 3rd International CAL4INO Conference “Releasing Creative Energy: Towards a More Competitive Europe”.
Since 2008 RISEBA in partnership with BA School of Business and Finance and Ventspils University College has been publishing the Journal of Business Management, ISSN 1691-5348, indexed in EBSCO database.