Eighth annual doctoral thesis conference at ICFAI Business School

The Eighth Annual Doctoral Theses Conference was organised by the ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai at the ICFAI University campus, on April 23 and 24. This edition of the Conference saw large participation of research scholars working in various fields related to management studies and economics. Eighty-five research papers by doctoral students from across the country were presented in 17 different tracks during the two-day conference, says a press release.

The Chief Guest on the occasion Prof S Mahendra Dev, Director and Vice-Chancellor, IGIDR, Mumbai, in his address to the young researchers, touched upon the importance of data in contemporary research, highlighting the recent changes in GDP measurement in the country. According to him, data gaps and quality are still a serious concern for researchers, although compared to most developing countries; India has relatively better statistical systems. Prof Dev also focused on some key issues in research methodology. He specifically dealt with the question of causation, Time Series Analysis and Randomized Control Trials. He stated that the most important factor for good research is the ability to ask the right questions and the judgment exercised by the researcher at various stages of research. He exhorted budding researchers to develop these critical skills through practice and from their mentors.

Prof. J. Mahender Reddy, the Vice-Chancellor of ICFAI University, in his presidential address, talked about the importance of judgment in research. Quoting Nobel laureate Milton Freedman, Prof Reddy said that the capacity to judge correctly cannot be taught and can only be learned through experience and exposure in the right scientific atmosphere, which is what the University wanted to provide to doctoral scholars through organizing such a conference.

The diverse topics covered in the conference helped the participating PhD Scholars gain exposure to contemporary developments in various fields of business research. Eminent scholars and senior faculty members from premier business schools and universities around Hyderabad chaired the technical sessions in their respective fields of expertise, significantly adding value to the participating scholars in their research work. The conference provided a well-conceived platform for research scholars working in multiple fields to interact and learn from each other.

The research scholars who presented their papers during the Conference were doctoral students, both Indian citizens and foreigners, of research institutions, business schools and universities across the country and beyond. Some of the participation institutions were IIM Shillong, Kathmandu University, Nepal, NIT Rourkela and IITs at Rourkee, Mumbai and Hyderabad, various Central and State Universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi), University of Hyderabad, Pondicherry University, University of Kolkata, Kashmir University, Karnataka Central University, Aligarh Muslim University, Mangalore University, Central University of Kerala and several others, Deemed Universities and Research Institutes like the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, the National Institute of Banking Management, Pune.

The Chief Guest for the valedictory session on 24{+t}{+h} April was Prof Aparna Gupta, Director, Center for Financial Studies, Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, USA. In her address on ‘Risk Transfers in an Inter-connected World’, Prof Gupta talked about the role of Financial Engineering in improving the efficacy of Risk Transfers. She stressed upon the increasing importance of Network thinking in the field of Finance. She also cited hedging for risk reduction using weather derivatives as an example of how improved data and analytics capability is allowing researchers to ask more relevant questions and find risk reduction applications in non-Finance fields as well.

Earlier, Prof. V Bhanoji Rao, former Professor, National University of Singapore spoke about the urgent need to improve the quality of doctoral research in India. He stressed on the criticality of quality faculty in guiding scholars if PhD programs have to become stepping stones for academic excellence.

Prof. S. Venkata Seshaiah, the Deputy Director, Prof G V Muralidhara, Dean , Prof. S Vijayalakshmi, Dean , Prof. V S P Rao, and Dr C S Shylajan, , Dr. Subhendu Dutta were among the dignitaries present.

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