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?
One has been in the legal profession for eight years, the other for thirty. Both have had a thing about research ever since they left university. Along with three others, Dieter Bruneel and Luc Wynant are the first participants in the Doctorate in Business Administration programme at Vlerick, Ghent University and KU Leuven. What convinced them to take that step? And what do they think of the course so far?
“Too theoretical, too rigid, too little innovation, too detached from reality.” The going is tough in scientific research today. Its impact is frequently too limited, Dr Marco Busi claims. As befits a good researcher, he has hit a raw nerve. But he also offers guidelines for researchers who do strive to make an impact and really want to make a difference.
