
I travelled to Boston in November 2023 to undertake an institutional visit at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. My visit was hosted by Professor Jean Bartunek, Professor and Robert A. and Evelyn J. Ferris Chair of Management and Organization.
The visit has been an extremely informative and exhilarating experience. Meeting other prominent academics at Carroll and especially spending time with Professor Jean Bartunek, has familiarized me to the academic landscape in the States. My most memorable and particularly instructive experience was attending the Boston Field Research Conference on the theme of “Impact: Power with Purpose” in December 2023. The Conference brings together the academic community from all the leading business schools in Boston including Harvard University, Boston University, MIT, Northeastern University, amongst several others. Meeting other academics and doctoral students and especially attending sessions proctored by some of the leading voices in organization theory was an extremely insightful experience.

I also had the opportunity to present my research and specifically my paper titled, ‘Desperate Journeys to Europe: Sensebreaking in Extreme Contexts hosted by the Work, Identity and Meaning research group (WIM)’. WIM organizes presentations and seminars of research on work, identity, and meaning. From early-stage ideas to nearly finished manuscripts, WIM offers opportunities for management researchers to share their work with scholars throughout the Boston area and beyond.
My experience in Boston has been absolutely wonderful. The visit also accorded me the opportunity to visit other campuses and explore the Boston area. Boston is a beautiful city with plenty of opportunities to make meaningful connections and explore libraries, coffee shops and museums. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, and I hope that other PhD students also explore the possibility of visiting Boston and especially Boston College.