International DBA Students visited Sheffield Hallam University

News

Last month, 10 students of the International DBA programme visited Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom,  in order to gain more insight into the world of methodology and research methods. It was the second time the group, which consisted of students from China, South-Africa, Nigeria and the United Kingdom itself, gathered.

End of January the group first met in Buren, the Netherlands, for a kick-off programme. During 5 days they were exposed to the main principles of Action Learning and learned how these principles could be valuable to their research. Furthermore, philosophy and ethics in a business environmental context, holistic models and the creation of a problem statement in both a scientifically and structured way, were discussed.
Students returned home full of inspiration but also realising that this was only the beginning of their journey. A journey which includes a lot of reading. Reading the handed out literature but also reading about the organisations they intended to investigate and their context. Needless to say that understanding and applying their newly acquired knowledge was part of their first assignment, which had to be handed in before their second gathering in Sheffield.

End of May the group reunited at Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom. Purpose of the week was to discuss both methodology and research methods in further detail , hoping that  students after all would be able to make a choice that fits their subject as well as their personality. The importance of these parts of the process came alive by the stories of three enthusiastic DBA alumni , who were willing to share their experiences. A moment which made most current students realize again how privileged they are to have this opportunity and which renewed confidence in their own potential.

For us, Business School Netherlands , there was also a confidence boosting part to the whole experience as the students feedback never before was so positive. 9 out of 12 statements were rated with the maximum score and the other 3 were only slightly less favoured. No better compliment needed to make the best of their third meeting in Prague next year.

Photo: Main entrance, one of the Sheffield Hallam University buildings.

Photo: Shefflield surrounds.

Photo: Action Learning in Action.