RENT XXXII International Conference

16 November, 2018

At the University of Castilla-La Mancha, in the stunning city of Toledo, Spain, Sarah Davis, a PhD student in the Hincks Centre in CIT, was awarded a place on Doctoral Workshop at the EIASM and ECSB flagship RENT XXXII Conference. Excellent advice, direction and support were on offer to 18 doctoral students from across Europe as part of the pre-conference day. Overseen by Professor Helle Neergaard and Professor Robert Blackburn, the workshop provided an opportunity to explore shared challenges in conducting a PhD study.

These two experienced researchers shared their knowledge of conducting quality research in Entrepreneurship and offered suggestions for approaches to getting published. With a PhD focus, topics included philosophical stances, methodologies, sampling frameworks, personal development and getting published, as well as, a chance to explore the differences between a monograph thesis or a thesis by publication. Facilitated by an experienced researcher, Ulla Hytti, the afternoon consisted of working in small groups of 4 PhD students, providing and receiving feedback from fellow students on each research proposal. Constructive feedback and critical comments and questions provided opportunities to see our research through the eyes of others and to plan new ways forward.

This positive first day provided much food for thought in a supportive, fun, learning environment. There followed two days of the RENT 2018 conference and the opportunity to explore current research in social entrepreneurship, eco-innovation, green entrepreneurship, business models, technological entrepreneurship, and many other topics. This RENT XXXII conference provided a shared meeting-ground, with opportunities for networking and for making friends, all while learning and developing research skills for tackling your main entrepreneurship research problems.