Oxford Brookes Business School

I first heard about Oxford Brookes University through a friend who did his master’s degree here.

I was impressed with the swift response from my now Director of Studies, Professor Pritam Singh, when I was searching for a supervisor for my research topic. I needed to find a supervisor who had vast knowledge and interest in this research area, and I was really impressed with the way he responded to my email and took his time to answer my questions. I was also impressed with his expertise.

I had worked in different sectors - both academic and non-academic environments – and the last job I held was as a Software Tester. After being in this last job for few months, I felt the urge to pursue a career that will enable me to fulfil my childhood dreams.

It was quite easy for me to settle into the research environment. I had completed two master’s degrees in the UK, so I had a good knowledge of things. Getting the tempo back to becoming a full-time student was a bit slow but with the fantastic support from my supervisory team, the research team, and the series of seminars, conferences and library resources, I was able to fit in easily.

The title of my research is “Microfinance Intervention and Women Empowerment in Nigeria: The Case of LAPO Microfinance Bank Ltd”. This was borne out of my desire to contribute to alleviating poverty among women as a result of my background. I grew up in a remote village in Nigeria, where poor women strive daily to cater for their household. These women did all sorts of dirty and menial jobs to supplement the meagre output from their subsistence farming. What I noticed then was that despite all their efforts, they were still treated without value and respect by their male counterparts (both within    the home and society). As a young boy then, I marvelled at the strength these women (including my mother) had to do all this hard work and yet receive no appreciation for their work. I also noticed that the women were poorer than their male counterparts as a result of their inability to access resources on    an equal platform with men, which kept them in perpetual bondage.        

Women’s empowerment is now seen as an essential tool for the development of society and has become an important issue across developing countries. There continued to be arguments and contradictions in the literature on the impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment. Several studies have been carried out on microfinance and women empowerment, but most studies have focused on the use of quantitative techniques, which ignored the perspectives of women participants and shut them out of the mainframe of their analysis. My research attempts to unravel some of the uncertainties about the role of microfinance in women’s economic, social and political empowerment by using a non-quantitative approach.        

I used a qualitative approach to collect first-hand data from participants through a semi-structured interview, focus group discussion (FGD), observations, and informal discussions, to capture their views and gain insights into their perceptions. A total of 24 practitioners were interviewed to sensitise their opinions on microfinance and women empowerment, while 10 individual women’s views were captured in addition to a focus group discussion with 71 women across Lagos East in South West Nigeria. The research drew on the analytical frameworks of Friedman’s 1992 Alternative Development Theory and Young’s (1993) Transformatory Potential. Findings reveal that women experienced economic empowerment as there was an increase in their income, savings, control over and use of resources, decision making, ability to make small purchases and being involved in the decision to make large purchases. However, the study found a rise in participants’ household financial responsibilities as a result of the increase in their earnings.        

Empirical findings also confirmed an increase in women’s social empowerment as there was an improvement in their mobility, literacy and health awareness, respect within the household and community and the ability to gain more voice within their household. However, there was a mixed result from the variables on political empowerment. The political awareness of participants is still very low. Although they have the freedom to join political parties, stand for election and decide whom to vote for, the party structure and how politics is played in Nigeria, coupled with innate feelings and other extrinsic factors, dissuade poor women from active participation in politics.        

It was inferred from the analysis that financial autonomy is vital for women’s economic empowerment; social empowerment facilitates the sustainability of their economic empowerment; while political empowerment ought to serve as a conduit through which women can collectively bring about policy change to their favour. Thus, a major implication would be the inability of poor women to achieve full empowerment if they continue to show apathetic behaviour towards political representation.        

One of the things I enjoy is gaining knowledge and expertise within a field I intend to practice in.  Being in a research environment is quite stimulating. PhD study has given me the opportunity to meet and interact with people I wouldn’t ever have thought I would cross paths with.        

One major challenge I am facing as a self-financed student is getting the resources to keep me going in the research process. It is a huge challenge, especially when you have exhausted all options and sent out several emails and letters for grants. I get my motivation from the fact that I am doing this PhD purely for the purpose of transforming lives of poor women and no matter what I encounter along the way, the end result will be worth it.

The research training has been excellent, and it has helped me a lot. It was a bit of a challenge to adjust myself back to the academic field at the initial stage because of the gap between my last master’s degree and the time I started my PhD. The workshops, seminar series, induction and social networking have all been spot on and highly relevant to my research and personal development.

My intention after the PhD programme is to devote myself entirely to how life can be more bearable for the poor women and their children in developing countries, mostly in Nigeria. I can feel the pain poor women are enduring on a daily basis in order to cater for the needs of their households. I have been there because that was the same thing my mother went through and without her input, I wouldn’t be able to know how pressing the issue of poverty is among women. I see this PhD as a way to stand up for the helpless women and their children, to support them all the way and to bring out the best in their children. I intend to do this through projects and programmes and this will be achieved by liaising with governmental and non-governmental organisations.

I first heard about Oxford Brookes University when I was studying for my bachelor’s degree in China. One of my teachers, who is originally from Oxford, mentioned it to me and explained that Oxford Brookes is a leading modern university with a lot of international students from more than 150 different countries. I believed this diverse learning environment would greatly help me become an effective contributor in today's multicultural society. That is why I decided to pursue my master’s degree at Oxford Brookes University, which I completed in 2012.

While I was studying at Brookes for my master’s degree, the tutors were very helpful and always created a positive and engaging classroom atmosphere. I believe Brookes offers a university experience of quality that goes beyond the lectures in the classroom. It not only gave me knowledge, skills and confidence in myself, but it was also a great experience which made my world better. While I was writing my dissertation for my MSc in International Management, my supervisor Dr Joanna Karmowska provided a lot of guidance in terms of personal development as well as during the PhD application process. For my doctoral studies, I have been extremely lucky as I have two very good supervisors, Dr Jackie Clarke and Dr Nicoletta Occhiocupo, who are extremely supportive and helpful. I believe caring student-teacher relationships at Brookes have greatly helped students do better at the University, as well as act kindlier toward others. In my opinion, such working relationships are crucial to the success of any PhD study.

I found it very easy to settle into the research environment at Brookes. People here are friendly and helpful, and I got extensive support from the supervisory team as well. I was particularly impressed by the faculty teams, research administration, library resources, as well as the training and development courses that are available at the University. As a research student, you will normally be allocated two supervisors. This is to ensure that you will be placed within an appropriate, supportive environment from which you will be able to build and establish your identity as an independent researcher.

The purpose of this research is to explore how the Chinese philosophical religious traditions of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism impact on the consumption behaviour of contemporary Chinese consumers. As China is rapidly becoming an important market for consumer goods, in particular luxury, it is critical for    marketers to develop a more nuanced understanding of Chinese consumers. Relatively little is known about the differences in consumer purchasing and consumption patterns of Chinese consumers. This research uses multiple case studies of the three most influential philosophical religious traditions – Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism – in China, and the associated knowledge of their influence on Chinese consumer behaviour today.   

Although there are many studies on the influence of Chinese cultural values on Chinese consumer behaviour, most of them consider only one cultural dimension. For instance: Confucian luxury consumption; Confucianism culture values and gift giving behaviour; and Chinese luxury consumption behaviour.  Few studies have explored Chinese consumers’ preferences for non-luxury products. China has three core philosophical religious traditions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - so people are subjected to a wide range of cultural value reference groups that ultimately affect their purchase behaviour. These operate as cultural components of the person in terms    of consumer attributes and processes, and as cultural components of behaviour in terms of consumer behaviour domains. To overcome such limitations and provide marketers with better knowledge on how to differentiate their marketing strategies in China, this study seeks to explore the purchasing and consumption    experience of Chinese consumers as influenced by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The key contribution is likely to lie with the development of a framework and its evidence-based conceptualisation of Chinese consumption behaviour across all three traditions. In doing so, the research will offer a (relatively rare) non-Western perspective on contemporary consumption behaviours rooted in a very different cultural heritage. 

 This study implies that philosophical religious traditions exert a strong influence on people’s consumption behaviours. These religious beliefs shape attitudes towards behaviour, including consumption intentions. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism constitute the essence of the traditional Chinese culture and are equally important in understanding traditional Chinese culture. Findings from Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism festival case studies will contribute to the explanation of Chinese consumption behaviour and exploration of the purchasing and consumption experience of Chinese consumers as influenced by Chinese philosophical religious traditions. The study helps fill the gap in terms of consumer research scarcity in China from a native perspective and to assist marketing professionals in developing a better understanding of the intersection between Chinese culture and consumer behaviour.

Being a research student is a fantastic opportunity to research a topic I am interested in. It offers me the opportunity to explore my research topic in detail with a new perspective, to discover or learn something new, to improve myself and my life, and ultimately to achieve something significant. I enjoy the    process of doing research; it is an effective way to develop your learning management skills and obtain a PhD. Being a research student, you can also learn a lot from your fellow research students. They research different topics, they come from different cultures, and I believe you can learn and benefit a lot from a diverse learning environment.   

As an international student, I felt that cultural differences and language (English) presented personal and professional challenges in my studies - the language limitations indirectly increase the workload, burden and pressure. Therefore, I decided to register in the free English course provided by Oxford Brookes - Academic English for Postgraduate Study and Research - where talking to native English speakers greatly improved my level of English.   

I am also grateful for the fact that both of my supervisors are very supportive in all stages of the PhD programme and provide me with many strategies to help improve my academic English. They also encourage me to do presentations, attend conferences and lectures, and write papers. I can feel that I am progressing thanks to this.  

I have been able to access a variety of workshops at Brookes. Specifically, I found the faculty 20-20 seminars and presentations really helped me understand and plan the way I will move forward in this research process. The University also provides general research skills training and development events designed to complement the subject-specific and project-related training provided by academic units and disciplines. These cover topics such as carrying out a literature review and preparing for the Viva exam. In addition, the training on research career development, aimed at researchers early on in their careers, offers considerable benefit to the student as it allows them to combine theory and practice.

After completing my PhD, I aspire to continue my career and further develop my education. I plan to engage in post-doctoral studies and deepen my consumer behaviour research by combining it with the new trend of virtual reality technology or artificial intelligence.

I first joined Oxford Brookes as an MSc student.  

I did my Masters at Oxford Brookes, so it seemed reasonable to do my PhD here.

Before starting my PhD, I was working for the University of Oxford as a Senior HR Officer.

My supervisors, the disability team and my fellow students were all so supportive when I was not feeling well.

Gender has always been used as a common denominator in which women can find some common ground in order to counter their inequalities in leadership. This research, however, aims to explore and highlight the challenges that women who identify as BME face in their quest to progress and attain leadership roles in higher education institutions (HEIs). I will discuss the encounters (for example, stereotyping and prejudice) that these women face and specifically address the dimensions of gender, race, class and their impact on leadership. Crenshaw’s (1989) concept of intersectionality will be used to understand the way in which gender, race and class mediate and shape the experiences of these women in the workplace. The road to leadership demands an understanding of how multiple identities position women differently in HEIs. The research seeks to redress the reliance on one identity and argue that women have multiple identities and will be affected differently by these multiple identities.

In 1989, Crenshaw introduced the term to avoid the pitfalls inherent to identity politics. She argues, intersectionality ‘denote[s] the various way[s] in which race and gender interact to shape the multiple dimensions of black women’s employment experiences’ (Crenshaw 1989, 139). Thus, Crenshaw challenges individuals and institutions who essentialise identities. It is clear that intersectionality has given us something to think about despite the various debates and critiques that surround the framework

This research will be carried out in Higher Education Institutions and qualitative research methods will be used to explore the phenomenon under study by interviewing women who identify as black and ethnic minorities. I intend to explore the perceptions and the views of these women when it comes to their leadership opportunities in these institutions. Having worked in one myself, I would have to reflect and note down any biases I might have, but the semi-structured interviews with participants are meant to explore deeply on this topic. I will conclude by highlighting the findings and limitations, and what can be done to bring about social justice in underrepresented groups.

I hope to pursue a career in academia.

I attended an open day organised by the Oxford Brookes Business School, and I was impressed by the attention given to prospective research students and the communication established in those early stages. I received emails, had a meeting with the Programme Lead, and received feedback on my research proposal. It was very motivating!

As a professional coach I wanted my research work to advance coaching as a research field and as a profession. As an academic, it was important for me to work with scholars who are research-active and publish regularly in academic journals. The International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies offers multiple opportunities to share knowledge and ideas with a wide range of audiences, including a network of professionals (the Oxford Brookes Coaching and Mentoring Society). This, combined with the focus on research impact and strong relationships with academics and practitioners in the fields of HRM, and specifically coaching and mentoring, offered the ideal environment.

I was born and raised in the south of France. I have been living abroad for 20 years in Denmark, Bulgaria and the UK. I currently lecture in Human Resources Management and Leadership at Regent’s University London. My professional career started with an interest in languages and intercultural competence. Then, I worked as HR consultant in Paris and specialised in EU-funded programme management for the French Ministry of Education. A few years after moving to London, I set up a coaching and training practice focusing on leadership development and cross-cultural communication. I worked with leaders in various large organisations and I was intrigued that coaching provided by the organisation for talent and leadership development purposes was not always perceived as effective by its recipients. This was the starting point of my PhD inquiry.

Oxford Brookes provides excellent support for both the individual and research community. The meetings with my supervisors are always thought-provoking, challenging and motivating. The research methods training was a real eye-opener, and technical support for research software has been great. Last, but not least, the online library is a real gem.

My PhD study focuses on the role of coaching in talent and leadership development programs. Facing a shortage of talent at global level, CEOs consider the development of talented employees in the leadership pipeline as business critical. Coaching is often regarded as a core element of talent and leadership programs, yet there have been few attempts to explore its impact on the development of leaders within a global firm. To address this neglect, this study examines the perceived role of coaching in developing talented employees as part of a global talent management strategy. 

Research background and objectives:  This study focuses on the role of coaching in talent and leadership development programs in a multinational financial services organisation. Global talent management and leadership development are the main priorities and amongst the most challenging issues on the agenda of CEOs (Tarique and Weisbord, 2018). Coaching is often regarded as a core element of these programs (CIPD, 2017) and yet there have been few attempts to explore its impact (Gallardo-Gallardo and Thunnissen, 2016; Blackman et al., 2016). To address this neglect, this study examines coaching in a global corporate environment, analysing perceptions of leaders who receive coaching as part of the organisation’s talent management strategy. 

Design and methods:  The research aims to secure an in-depth understanding of the perception and meaning of coaching as subjective and socially constructed phenomenon, thus an interpretivist ontology and constructivist epistemology were adopted. The methodological design of the study is qualitative, idiographic and inductive. The single case study research design was selected to provide an in-depth and context-sensitive qualitative analysis of the role of coaching for leaders at various stages in their career development. 

The investigation focuses on coaching in four talent and leadership development programs delivered by the banking and financial multinational case company in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The data collected is composed of 30 semi-structured interviews of talent-leaders, HR managers, internal and external coaches. The data is analysed using a thematic approach, suitable for qualitative inquiry.  

Key findings:  The role of coaching in the context of talent management can be analysed at individual and organisational levels. Four overarching themes emerged from the data analysis: at individual level, (a) talent coaching for human and social capital development, (b) emergence of a rhetoric of talent coaching; at organisational level, (c) talent coaching to foster a coaching culture and leadership change; (d) instrumentalisation of talent coaching. 

The study findings provide specific insights on how coaching interventions can contribute to developing talented employees and support their career progression in the organisation. First, talent coaching may have different roles at different stages of leaders’ career. In their early career, junior leaders benefit more from networking, reputation building and sponsorship than from formal training interventions. In contrast, senior leaders value external and internal coaching as trustworthy and long-term relationships that support them to face challenges in their current position or in transition between two roles. 

Second, the study suggests that talent management in a large organisation may shift from an exclusive to inclusive approach by developing a coaching culture in order to enhance employee engagement and develop innovation. Finally, the findings suggest that coaching as part of a global talent management strategy may have a limited impact on the leaders’ leadership development and career progression, unless it continues informally after the end of the program in the form of a long-term mentoring relationship. Consequently, a definition of talent coaching is proposed, which encompasses various types of developmental interventions: instructional-feedback, mentoring, sponsoring, mediation and dialogic coaching.

The study provides insights for HR managers who use coaching for talent development and leadership change. For example, further preparation and supervision seem necessary to support internal coaches taking part in talent management programmes. From a theoretical perspective, the study builds on the social exchange theory and psychological contract to examine coaching as a talent management practice. Specifically, it argues that talent coaching enacts the extension of psychological contract between talented employees and their organisation. This investigation was supported by a Harnisch grant from the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School Affiliate. 

I really enjoy the process of learning and becoming part of a research community. Also, I appreciate the rigour, attention to detail and the theoretical focus that I have developed over the years. My study has received a research grant from the Institute of Coaching, part of Harvard University which enabled me to be an ambassador for Oxford Brookes when presenting at the Institute of Coaching annual conference in Boston last October. However, the PhD journey is full of ups and downs. As a part-time student, I felt that the most challenging task was to set aside time and energy for research, which was constantly competing with my other teaching duties. So, planning ahead, communicating my goals with my employer and prioritising my research helped to keep the momentum and make progress. Developing trust and professional relationships with my supervisors was a key element in the construction of my new identity as researcher.

I felt very well supported and I only wish I could attend more research training, not only on my speciality but to discover other approaches.

I am planning to continue researching and teaching in Higher Education, with a focus on research publications. I would like to disseminate the study findings with a wide audience to support individuals and organisations to leverage their coaching conversations.

I heard about Oxford Brookes from my Director of Studies, Professor Juliette Koning.

I was interested in taking the PhD programme as my supervisor, Professor Juliette Koning, has similar research interests as I have (SMEs in Indonesia).

I was a university lecturer.

I did not find it difficult to settle into the research environment as I was already a lecturer. The Business School offered good support in developing a research environment, including organising summer schools and conferences.

There is growing attention to the role of family firms in the global economy. In Indonesia, the family firm model is dominant, enhancing people’s lives through job creation, such as in Lasem’s traditional batik industry which is very labour intensive. The batik firms in Lasem demonstrate the ability to sustain a business through generations, particularly those owned and managed by ethnic Chinese families. Surprisingly, quite a few have survived past the third generation, while previous research in a Western context argues that only fourteen percent of family businesses survive to the third generation.

Previous studies on business sustainability are mainly concerned with the macro-economic level. This study investigates family firm sustainability in a more comprehensive way, considering the growth and survival process over periods of time by incorporating a mixed-embeddedness approach. This allows an analysis at different levels: the micro-level (the family and the firm), the meso-level (the market dynamics), and the macro-level (political and economic climate). In addition, the research compares two ethnic groups that play key roles in the traditional batik industry in Lasem: the ethnic Chinese, as the pioneers of batik Lasem, and the ethnic Javanese, who are newcomers. Ethnographic research was conducted in the Lasem area using a life-business history approach.

This study offers several key findings. Firstly, at the micro level, the embeddedness of the owner-managers in their contexts (ethnic family background) provides a unique resource availability such as knowledge, social capital, and financial capital. Knowledge possession (colouring formula in particular), the flexibility in responding to changing circumstances, succession, and emotional attachment to the firm and the family are also important in determining business sustainability. Secondly, market dynamics such as fashion trends, technology development and competitive environment impact differently on the business sustainability of the two groups. Thirdly, at the macro level, politics and the economic climate can potentially encourage or threaten business sustainability. This study demonstrates that an appropriate strategy in response to the changing circumstances at the micro, meso and macro levels is crucial in determining business sustainability. The latter is closely related to a combination of mixed-embeddedness and the unique resources pertinent to each ethnic group.

Doing research is one of the main reasons why I have chosen lecturing as a career path. I love to learn from and analyse others’ experiences, which is why I enjoy ethnographic research. The challenge of doing ethnographic research is deciding which topic is the most important and interesting to write about, and which would contribute to existing knowledge. It is an exhausting process, but my Director of Studies played an important role in helping me to direct my research focus.

I am going to be a university lecturer and conduct research relating to my research interests.

I found out about Oxford Brookes University through a Google search when I was looking to apply for a research degree programme at a university which offered Digital Marketing.

After my masters’ degree, I was looking for universities to apply to for a doctoral degree which was credible and highly reputed. I conducted sufficient research and shortlisted universities which are highly ranked across a span of different research projects especially within the Marketing subject area. This is when I came across Oxford Brookes University. I was clear that I wanted to be a part of a university which provided a high-quality student experience and would prepare me for a career in academia. I was impressed with the research student profiles across the University and at the Faculty level which was very diverse. I found various interesting active research projects about digital marketing strategies. Most importantly, my potential supervisors’ (who are also my current supervisors, Dr Sarah Quinton and Prof Janine Dermody) research profiles; their research interests and experience attracted me to join Oxford Brookes University. Additionally, Oxford is a beautiful place to live with a strong student community presence around the city.

Before commencing my PhD journey at Oxford Brookes University, I completed a Masters’ by research (MRes) at the University of Exeter.                

Prior to starting my journey in the United Kingdom, I worked as a Lecturer at Reva First Grade College and Brindavan College in India, and as an Activation Officer at Nestle India Ltd.

It was very easy for me to settle into the research environment as I had just completed my masters’ degree and produced a dissertation on consumers’ stance towards mobile games as a communication medium, a case study of Indian gamers. The PhD programme at the Business School is well structured (registration, ethics approval, transfer, and the final submission) and communicated very clearly in the induction session, which is helping me to focus and plan my work to achieve the set milestones. Both my supervisors are very supportive in various stages of the PhD programme and for the deadlines that I need to adhere to. At the beginning, the library training was particularly useful for me to know from where and how to get access to the resources available for my research. The University also offers support by providing various research training and networking events.

The purpose of my research is to investigate the effectiveness of product placement through recall and recognition in mobile games as experienced by Indian female consumers.  In the last few years, with progress in technology, the ways of advertising are changing as advertisers look for new avenues of reaching the target consumers. Product placement is a creative and productive tool in the promotion mix which combines the advertisement with the entertainment, blurring the advertised content. Creating awareness using product placement strategy has been the main goal of advertisers. Although movies and television programmes have been popular choices for product placement because of its wide reach, over the past few years, it has expanded to other forms of media like video games, computer games and games played on social networking platforms.                  

A mobile phone is the easiest form of entertainment whilst on the move. Mobile games are an interactive and engaging platform, it provides a way for gamers to interact with the products placed in the game than just being mere passive viewers of advertisements. Many video games are now moving to the mobile platform to increase their audience reach. Digital games are traditionally associated with men. But with the increased use of mobile devices, games have also attracted a lot of women consumers. Mehta (2016) highlights that Indian women are outplaying men in mobile games. Men and women approach and interpret advertisements with different motives and perspectives. The growing number of women playing mobile games, the increase in disposable family income, and their response to media can have a positive impact for gaming companies in India, attracting advertisers to reach these women gamers. Thus, the underpinning idea of this study is to conduct gender-specific research examining the effectiveness of product placement through recall and recognition in an interactive and engaging platform like mobile games. Furthermore, this research will be conducted in a naturalistic environment to explore the opportunities and limitations with product-placement strategy in a hand-held environment.                

My project will employ a mixed methods research approach, where the participants will be asked to play a game on their smartphones and answer a questionnaire after playing the game. Additionally, in order to understand the perspectives of the participants about the game and their experiences of the product placement concept in detail, semi-structured interviews will be conducted. This research will develop a product placement framework. 

I enjoy being a research student primarily because it gives me an opportunity to explore my research topic in detail with a new perspective; to read different theories and other researchers’ insights about the topic and at the same time see the practical implementation. Although it is a journey of my choice, there are times when I am muddled and look for guidance. My supervisors have always been supportive and guiding me at all stages. I am always supercharged after meetings with my supervisors who constantly encourage me to work hard and produce quality work within the agreed deadlines.                

The challenging aspect so far in my PhD journey is to maintain consistency with my work. ‘Being efficient and systematic’ has been my mantra until now; to constantly discipline myself and plan my day-to-day activities. I strongly believe that it is important to break long-term goals into working short-term goals and each time I accomplish a goal I list it and reward myself! I feel with these little rewards, along with the list of accomplishments, motivates me to work hard in the long run.

The training events at Oxford Brookes University are plentiful and communicated in advance. The Graduate College Training Programme including time management, tackling the writing stage, media training workshop and data management and storage have helped me to learn strategies for careful planning    and execution, and has allowed me to be productive throughout my PhD journey. I find the career and personality development training to be very engaging and covers a span of training programmes from how to write a job application, how to get a job and the interview skills required for researchers in academia. Courses also focus on non-academic jobs; enhancing personal effectiveness as a researcher through the MBTI framework, for example, has been beneficial for me, as I am aware of the opportunities that I can look for and how to apply. Seminars from the Oxford Brookes Business School such as the 20-20 seminars every semester, International Research Conference and Biennial Doctoral Event provides an opportunity to interact with guest speakers and different PhD students and listen to a range of research methods, the data collection process, and the challenges. I have attended many seminars and training from the very beginning of my PhD journey and will continue to attend, this is helping me to enhance my skills set and learn new concepts which are valuable as an early career researcher.

After completing my PhD, I aspire to continue my career in academia as a priority. However, if I become aware of some interesting market research work in any company, I am open to that as well.  

A student friend of mine told me good stories about the quality of research at Oxford Brookes and I contacted another friend who happened to live in Oxford to seek his opinion. Both friends shared similar views which further encouraged my application. Following my enrolment, I saw the incredible support from my supervisory team and the Faculty members in equipping me with the necessary research skills that will help me throughout my PhD journey.

I was working with a government agency in Nigeria.

The support and facilities provided have made it very easy for me to settle quickly into the research environment. It has also been much easier since the Oxford Brookes Business School moved from Wheatley to the Headington campus.

Nigeria is the most populous African nation with an estimated population of 186 million people. Prior to the discovery of oil in 1956, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy; however, after the oil discovery, there was gradual neglect of agriculture and other sectors which hitherto made tremendous contributions to the economy. For the past two decades, the country has been operating a mono commodity-based economy with about 90% of revenues coming from the oil sector. To counter this over-dependence, Nigeria launched Vision 20:20 which is an articulation of a long-term intent to launch Nigeria onto a path of social and economic progress and fast-track the development of an economically prosperous Nigeria. My research seeks to advocate for a paradigm shift from a mono-sectoral dependence to a knowledge-based economy, exploring the roles of the interaction between universities-industries-government in Nigeria. The study aims to investigate the factors that influence the trilateral relations, the motivations for and the factors that impede the interaction, achieved through semi-structured interviews with study participants drawn from academic, industry and government institutions involved in technological development in Nigeria. The universities were selected based on the National Universities Commission’s ranking and regional distribution, as well as other factors such as years of establishment and experience. The firms were selected based on the level of engagement in knowledge-intensive commercial activities. The government agencies were selected based on their various roles in supporting, regulating, and participating in collaborative commercial ventures and innovative activities with the universities and industries. This research is supervised by Dr Sola Adesola (Director of Studies) and Professor Pritam Singh and is still ongoing with further work to be completed on data analysis, critical evaluation and contributions to knowledge.

What I enjoy most is the diversity of my fellow PhD students. I enjoy interacting with people from different nations, ethnic and religious backgrounds. I have learnt to live with people from other nations and to interact with them in many positive ways.

My initial challenge was my difficulty in understanding the British accent. I have struggled to communicate with native English speakers because the speech is very fast and a little different to what I am used to. But I quickly paid more attention to improve that barrier, which helped me a lot in improving my communication skills.

The research training has been very helpful and practical for my research. The first training I received was EndNote and searching for materials in the library catalogue. Prior to that, I had no idea how EndNote worked. I used to arrange my bibliographies manually, but after this and other training session I attended, I can confidently say that my research skills have improved tremendously.

My aim after completing my PhD is to return to my country and contribute to my nation, and also be a good ambassador for Oxford Brookes University.

I first heard about Oxford Brookes from the Oxford Brookes University website, before starting my master’s degree here. I completed a Master’s in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Oxford School of Hospitality Management in 2015.

I have been running our family business in tourism and hospitality since 1996. Our business comprises two travel agencies, one small boutique hotel, and one transportation company. This has led me to work with the Indonesian government through several organisations that I represent such as ASITA (The Association of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies) and IWAPI (The Association of Indonesian Business Women). As such, I have contributed to the planning and product development programmes, joined focus group discussions, and participated in international training and conferences worldwide. My experience in tourism has also provided many experiences of working with local community programmes, especially those that seek to improve the empowerment of women in tourism. I have also delivered a number of workshops for SMEs in tourism sectors.

I have found I am surrounded by people that have excellent experience in research, as well as great facilities provided by the University. The University provides events related to my research and career development, and I am given numerous opportunities to talk about my research at conferences and seminars.

My research aims to examine the 2014 Indonesian Village Law and its influence on the nexus of power in rural tourism destinations. The focus of the research will be on the planning and decision-making process at the village level. Decentralisation is defined as the transfer of authority and power, responsibility and resources, from central government to a lower level of government. Decentralisation has been suggested by a number of scholars as critical to securing sustainable tourism development.  It is a democratic process, requiring bottom-up planning and decision making in less developed countries. Many authors have focused extensively on the dynamics of community based planning when seeking to implement sustainable tourism in communities. For the most part, however, they have not explored the connection and interaction between the local community and local government within a decentralised system. The level of authority provided to the community, the legitimacy of policy decision making within the community, and the resources to deliver tourism policies have also not been studied within decentralised tourism policy mechanisms.      

The primary focus of this research is on the ‘mechanic’ of gaining participation from local community members. There are widely differing views about what constitutes effective community participation and many researchers have not explored the connection and interaction between the local community and local government within decentralised systems.   

Indonesia started the process of policy decentralisation in 2001. The Indonesian Government chose not to follow the models implemented in other countries, where authority was transferred from a central government institution to regional levels of government. Instead, it chose to use decentralisation as a means to give greater authority, political and financial resources directly to regions and municipalities, thereby bypassing the provincial government structure. To this end, in 2014, the Indonesian Government enacted Law no 6/2014 (Village Law) on village governance and finance. This Law makes provision for the establishment of village governance committees and allocates funding to these committees from central government. As a result of the Law, all of the 74,754 villages in Indonesia have both the authority and resources to govern their own affairs and develop their area    based on their individual preferences. Under the provisions of this Law, therefore, those villages which have tourism potential have the opportunity and means to develop tourism facilities using the resources and powers provided to them.  

To ensure that increased decentralisation leads to increased democratisation, the Village Law recognises that village governance should be accountable to villagers by providing a framework for citizen participation in the planning and monitoring of local policies. Using a qualitative method, this research will define the factors that enhance citizen participation in the village, particularly in tourism development. The primary data has been gathered in two rural tourism destinations in Indonesia, which have been selected according to their tourism development trajectory stage. This research will analyse the advantages and disadvantages, the implications and the process of policy formulation that can emerge from the implementation of the policy for tourism rural community's engagement in Indonesia, as well as contributing to theory by delimiting the essential pre-requisites to support rural tourism communities in maximising the benefits from policy decentralisation.  

I enjoy being a research student as it gives me an opportunity to explore, in detail, a research topic I am passionate about.

Oxford Brookes University provides a wide range of research student training which has helped me to face many different challenges during my research programme.

After completing my PhD, I would like to work to help our communities develop their tourism potential, and expand my business in the tourism industry in Indonesia