ULMS holds PhD conference employing design-thinking principles on research paper development
Designed to explore the complexities of paper development, the Management School’s Strategy, International Business and Entrepreneurship (SIBE) Subject Group organised a PhD conference on the theme, “The Fuzzy-Front End of New Paper Development: A Design-Thinking Approach,” on the 25th and 26th of March.
By employing a design thinking methodology, the two-day conference took an experimental approach that enabled participants to reflect on their own research proposals, moving from ‘understanding’ to ‘observation’ and ‘synthesis’.
The three-phased approach provided much value to PhD students, allowing them to surface the latent assumptions that underpinned their research and sharpen the theoretical focus of their proposals by integrating insights from more experienced scholars.
Strategically structured to promote scholarly engagement and discussion, day one of the conference broke away from the convention of typical PhD workshops. In place of speaker sessions, senior colleagues actively participated in the paper development workshop by providing detailed feedback on students’ research proposals.
Adding another layer of uniqueness to the conference was the ‘Abstract Karaoke’ session, where students were asked to present another participant’s research proposal. Taking on this unorthodox method helped to create and facilitate an open and relaxed environment for an engaging research discussion.
On day two, senior scholars addressed some of the less visible aspects of participating in international academic conferences, including choosing which suitable conferences to take part in and how to maximise participation to engender research collaborations, as well as the challenges of networking and the social aspects of conference participation. Another highlight of the day was the ‘Lego Serious Play’ exercises in which PhD students developed research symposium proposals by collaborating with senior colleagues.
The event brought together PhDs from a number of high-profile European schools, such as the University of Liverpool Management School, the University of Potsdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Groningen and Copenhagen Business School. World-leading scholars from these institutions, including Professor Wolfgang Sofka, Professor Julia Brennecke, Professor Joep Cornelissen and Professor Pedro de Faria, worked alongside PhD students, providing invaluable insights to help refine their nascent research papers.
One of the attendees, ULMS PhD Student Claire Dallas, found the conference beneficial and commented:
“This was an enjoyable and challenging workshop that defined how to develop specific aspects of my research design, in particular, highlighting the focuses of the paper that will be considered for potential future publications.”