Research conference highlights PhD students' projects

This annual student-led conference offers business doctoral students an opportunity to share research ideas and fosters effective presentation and communication skills.

22 November 2019

On November 22, 2019, our School hosted its 31st Annual Business PhD Research Conference highlighting over 30 doctoral student-led research projects throughout this one-day event. This special invitation event was jointly hosted by the Business Doctoral Association and the PhD Program office and brings together business PhD students, faculty and special guests to focus on graduate level student research spanning the five specializations offered at the School.

 

 

The four research projects below were presented by students:

"Assembling Frankensteins: How Data Scientists Stitch Provisional Artifacts to Render Novel Insights" by Rodrigo Valadao, second year SMO, supervisors Vern Glaser and Tim Hannigan;

"Market's Perspective on Firms' Investment Efficiency" by Xiaowen Zhang, fourth year Finance, supervisor Randall Morck;

"Coarse Performance Evaluation for Envious Agents" by Eiji Ohashi, fourth year Accounting, supervisor Florin Sabac; and,

"Exploding Deals: Consumer Response to Time-Limited Promotional Offers" by Hyoseok Kim, fourth year Marketing, supervisor Gerald Häubl.

 

(Photo: Xiaowen Zhang, fourth year Finance PhD student presenting her research)

 

Trish Reay, Associate Dean of the PhD Program said "I was impressed with our students' very high quality presentations based on their research. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for them to hone their presentation skills. I enjoy hearing about their ongoing research, and I know that other students and faculty learn something new during each presentation. The entire day is really a tribute to the truly great research culture that we have at the Alberta School of Business."

 

 

 

Between each of the presentation sessions, four poster exhibit sessions took place fostering the opportunity for students to practice effective presentation and communication skills. Here conference participants could move around to research displays to learn what business PhD students are curiously uncovering.

Bandita Deka Kalita, second year SMO student expressed the benefits of sharing her poster at the conference. "I received feedback on an early version of my project from peers and professors representing multiple sub-disciplines within the business school. I got to hear wide-ranging perspectives and ideas about my research design and potential next steps, and this was invaluable."

A panel discussion, held during the lunch hour, on the topic of "The Publication Pipeline in the PhD Program" was moderated by third year Marketing student Rory Waisman. Panel participants were business faculty members: Ilbin Lee (AOIS), Mark Huson (Finance), Jennifer Argo (Marketing) and Michael Lounsbury (SMO). During this session, faculty members openly shared their experiences and personal insights on topics like "what they would tell themselves if they were a PhD student again"; "is it more important to just research anything or be passionate about your research"; "how many research projects should a student take on?"; and "how does one manage time and energy when there is a need both to read deeply and produce quickly?"

"Panel discussions like this are really appreciated by the PhD students here because they help us get a broader perspective on how our research fits into the bigger picture of our career path," said Rory. "As PhD students, we sometimes take a narrow view of our research pipeline, but by hearing from faculty across research disciplines, we can better appreciate the different pathways by which we can engage our passion for research in pursuit of our goals."

 

 

For a deeper look at the research showcased at this event, please visit https://cloudfront.ualberta.ca/-/media/business/programs/doctor-of-philosophy/documents/2019-20/abstracts-2019-phd-business-research-conference.pdf.

Mark your calendars for next year's conference on November 20, 2020!

 

Interested in a Business PhD? Visit us at: https://www.ualberta.ca/business/programs/phd or send us an email at: busphd@ualberta.ca