Receiving Developmental Feedback
During my visit to the Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC), I focused on developing further the last paper of my dissertation. In this regard, since the first week of my arrival, scholars working at the Centre for Business and Development Studies welcomed me and offered time to discuss with me the ideas behind the paper. In total, I had five feedback sessions and I am very thankful to Soren Jeppesen, Jeremy Moon, Verena Girschik, Jacobo Ramirez and Stefano Ponte for generously suggesting ways to bring this paper to a publication level. Listening to their insights was extremely motivating, particularly at this point, in which my PhD journey is getting to its latest miles.
Becoming a CBS PhD Fellow for one month
Visiting CBS was also very remarkable due to the opportunity to immerse myself in the vibrant research community fostered by both the faculty and doctoral fellows. From the moment I arrived, the PhD community warmly integrated me. Whether it was during casual coffee breaks or in more formal research seminars, I had the opportunity to learn about their research projects on corporate sustainability topics.
By the end of my visit, I had the opportunity to participate in the CBS PhD Day, an event in which supervisors and doctoral fellows came together to identify more effective routes to navigate the PhD journey. This day continued with a delightful and sunny picnic and it ended with a social gathering surrounded by pleasant guitar music, a touch of wine, and a true sense of Copenhagen hygge.
Keeping the learning going
CBS has a very intense calendar of interesting events. In my first week, I attended “The Green Business Forum”, where I listened to the experiences of both academics and practitioners driving the sustainable agenda in Scandinavian countries. In the following week, I attended the presentation of the book “Corporate Sustainability”, which was recently edited by Andreas Rasche, Mette Morsing, Jeremy Moon, and Arno Korula. I am thankful to Jeremy for giving me a copy of the book.
Finally, I attended the event “Shifting the green Energy Together” co-organised by CBS and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. In this event, I listened to the challenges experienced by three local communities from Colombia, Kenya and Norway, who are resisting the destruction of their livelihood conditions due to the implementation of green energy projects that lack a meaningful corporate community engagement.
Overall, my research stay was a well suited opportunity to receive academic insights from researchers working at a different institution, to connect with doctoral fellows interested in sustainability research, and finally, to observe how Scandinavia is navigating the energy transition at both governmental and practitioner levels.
Eduardo Hernandez-Melgar
PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh Business School
Strategy Research Group