Recently I had the honour to co-chair the 2021 EFMD Doctoral Programmes Conference (DPC), together with Christine Unterhitzenberger from the University of Leeds. Although we already chose the conference theme “Responsible doctoral programmes for a responsible future” in September 2019, it could not have been timelier to discuss this within the current pandemic situation.
In this article, Dr Eva Cools, DBA Manager & Research Manager, Vlerick Business School, Belgium aims to give a realistic view on what you can expect throughout the Doctorate of Business Administration journey.
Within the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), quite some lively discussions take place amongst participants and faculty members about the role of research in society, the aims of academic knowledge creation and the impact one wants to achieve. Everyone agrees in the end that the ultimate purpose is to strive for credible knowledge with practical applications. This philosophy of engaged scholarship underlies the DBA programme and also the recently finalised research charter of Vlerick Business School.
In this interview, Professor Brecht Cardoen, PhD, Academic Director of the DBA programme, shared with us the unique features and benefits of pursuing this highest academic degree in business administration.
The challenge facing participants in the Doctorate in Business Administration is not for the fainthearted: working for four years on a doctoral thesis alongside their normal professional activities. But there is an award waiting at the end of the road: a doctoral diploma and research experience that is hard to match, says DBA Manager Eva Cools.
Two fledgling researchers. He works in process technology; she is in marketing. He has already considered doing a doctorate in the past; she was one hundred per cent certain that she would never get into research. What convinced these two experienced managers to take the plunge? What impact do they want to have and how do want to achieve it?
