Cardiff Business School hosts leading doctoral conference

The annual Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference (WPGRC) in business, management, and economics was held at Cardiff Business School on Thursday 15 June.

Strengthening and celebrating the research community in Wales, the event offered a platform to showcase and discuss the latest developments in business, management and economics research.

The one-day conference was attended by PhD students and academics from Cardiff University, Swansea University, Bangor University, and GW4 Universities. The event was jointly funded by Cardiff Business School and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (ESRC Wales DTP).

Professor Rachel Ashworth, Dean and Head of Cardiff Business School and Professor Luigi M. De Luca, Pro-Dean for Doctoral Studies, Cardiff Business School welcomed conference delegates in the morning.

During the conference, PhD students from all stages of their study presented their research in parallel sessions, with 70 oral paper presentations and 14 poster exhibits.

Sessions were clustered by themes to encourage interdisciplinary exchange in a collaborative and friendly atmosphere and to strengthen the research community across pathways and institutions.

The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Andrew Sturdy, from University of Bristol Business School on the topic of ‘preparing for your viva’.

This was followed by a roundtable discussion with Professor Melanie Jones and Professor Keith Whitfield of Cardiff Business School who were joined by two recent PhD graduates and former WPGRC prize winners, Dr Tracey Rosell and Dr John Poole.

The conference concluded with a dinner and award ceremony at Cardiff Cornerstone.

Conference prizes were awarded to:

• Katie Lloyd (Cardiff Business School) for Best Poster titled ‘Offline is the new luxury: A study of influencer’s neutralisation techniques to online hate.’

• Vanja Strand (Cardiff Business School) for Public Value titled ‘How supply chains are tackling the issue of modern slavery at the national and international levels: Tackling modern slavery in supply chains through B2N collaborations.’

• Suzanna Nesom (Cardiff Business School) for Best Conference Presentation titled ‘Why does the Gender Pay Gap vary across areas in Wales?’

Meet our WPGRC student prize winners:

Katie Lloyd said:

“It was a pleasure to present my research poster at the Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about fellow PhD student’s research and connecting with old and new colleagues. This was my first time sharing my research with anyone other than my supervisors, so I was really chuffed to have been awarded the conference’s ‘Best Poster Award’ too. The calibre of talent and innovation in fellow colleague's work is so inspiring, I look forward to seeing everyone's progress next year!”

Vanja Strand said:

“I had the most memorable experience attending and presenting at the 3rd Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference in Business/Management and Economics arranged by Cardiff Business School. The research presentations were of great quality and I learned a lot from my peers. It was also lovely to meet new people and learn about their experiences as PGR candidates.”

Suzanna Nesom said:

"I thoroughly enjoyed the presentations and meeting colleagues across Wales and Cardiff's GW4 partners. I'm honoured to receive the Best Presentation award for my research on Regional and Local Gender Pay Gaps in Britain, which I hope will provide high public value in the future."

Dr Nicole Koenig-Lewis, the ESRC DTP Wales Pathway Convenor for Business and Management said:

The WPGRC organising committee included: Professor Luigi De Luca, Professor Jonathan Gosling, Dr Tommaso Reggiani, Dr Nicole Koenig-Lewis and Beverly Francis.