170: Maximizing the Impact of Professional Doctorates (13499)

Universities and researchers are under increasing pressure to showcase the impact of their work. There is a lively academic debate on what constitutes research impact and how traditional notions of impact need to be broadened in order to include a more holistic view that serves researchers, educational institutions and society. Professional doctorates, such as the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), offer unique opportunities for achieving impact which are different from those of traditional PhDs in some important aspects. As an experienced management practitioner, the DBA researcher usually identifies a management problem or opportunity as their research topic, which is then refined and developed during the taught element of the DBA program, before they embark on their primary research. The requirement for a contribution to management practice in a DBA means that the impact is usually more immediate than for a PhD, but the challenges for the researcher lie in achieving rigor as well as relevance in their doctoral thesis and managing potential tensions between their professional and academic roles (which they hold in parallel). The evidence base on maximizing impact from doctoral qualifications - and specifically professional doctorates - is growing, but is still relatively underdeveloped, given the significance of the issue. This PDW will explore how the impact of professional doctorates can be maximized, addressing the unique opportunities, challenges, development trajectories of the degree. Spearheaded by a distinguished keynote, the PDW is facilitated by a team of academic directors from six international DBA programs and a professional organization (EDBAC).

There is no formal registration process. However, a quick email expressing interest to attend would be appreciated: david.wagner@munich-business-school.de