PhD Training

At the RCE, we offer high-quality training to future researchers interested in entrepreneurship. The training has three core components. Additionally, the training includes supplementary offers to enhance the PhD experience and provide a kick-start for the academic career. The three core components are a bi-weekly research colloquium, a yearly research workshop with international guest researchers, and a yearly PhD conference involving an intensive writing workshop. The supplementary offers involve a research stay at an international partner university and a mentoring program. The goal is to train PhD students for research positions at leading universities or advanced research careers in consulting, government or industry. PhD students learn to advance theory, develop scientifically sound research designs, and publish their research in international top-tier journals.

Research colloquium

During the semester, PhD students attend a biweekly entrepreneurship research colloquium. The colloquium gives students the opportunity to present their research projects, discuss research questions with professors and fellow PhD students, and receive feedback on their work-in-progress.

Research workshop

Once a year, the Research Centre for Entrepreneurship organizes a high-quality research workshop. Internationally renowned guest researchers are invited provide input on current and emerging topics in entrepreneurship. Furthermore, PhD students get the opportunity to present their research project and receive feedback from the guest researchers. Guest researchers have been, for example, Per Davidsson and Andreas Rauch, who are leading experts in the field of entrepreneurship.

PhD conference

Once a year, the Research Centre for Entrepreneurship organizes a PhD conference including a writing workshop. Before the conference, PhD students submit their current research papers. During the conference, the PhD students are assigned to a mentor (a senior researcher) to discuss their papers. The in-depth discussions with the mentors lead to advanced writing skills and higher quality papers. Furthermore, invited guests give talks about their academic careers and provide practical tips for successfully publishing the research in international journals.

International research stay

The Research Centre for Entrepreneurship collaborates with renowned universities all over the world, such as National University of Singapore, Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia), Jönköping International Business School, Stephen J.R. Smith School of Business (Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada), Johannes Kepler University Linz, and University of Southern Denmark. In addition, the Research Centre is an active member of various international research networks, such as ESU, ECSB, GBSN, and ICSB.  PhD students are encouraged to make use of this broad international network and realize a research stay or field work abroad.

Additional courses

During the first two years, PhD students attend courses as part of the program offered by the Graduate School. The courses advance students’ theoretical and methodological skills. Compulsory courses include Research Methods, Scientific Practice and Philosophy of Science.