An unforgettable experience in Bukarest

In May 2024, I was lucky enough to be selected for the Doctoral Colloquium for EMAC 2024. A doctoral colloquium is like a mini-conference for doctoral students only, but with an emphasis on friendly criticism, peer-to-peer exchange, and intense contact with faculty members. There are three different tracks: modelling, consumer behavior and strategy and the tracks were assigned by the coordinator.

With my project in cryptocurrencies, I was chosen for the marketing modelling beginners track (there is also an advanced track for more mature projects). Before the doctoral colloquium started, we were given the opportunity to upload our projects’ updated long abstracts. This way, everyone could get an idea about the other projects involved.

Presentations were scheduled to be around 30 to 45 minutes by each of us.

In my case, we were paired with three exciting senior professors: Renana Peres, Katrijn Gielens and Paolo Albuquerque.

Within the colloquium, participation is encouraged. We were warned before that we would get interrupted. And that, at any point, anyone in the audience can raise their hand and say something. For me, this was a challenging, but also very fruitful situation: this way the feedback was not put at the end of the presentation, but was addressed immediately, where it most mattered.

When you do a doctoral colloquium, you are not alone. You meet other PhD Candidates that are at a similar stage in their careers, and they face similar struggles that you do. It is a place to make friends.

Getting to know my peers was wonderful to me: I realised that I was at the right place with the right people: That my decision to change paths was the right one. And that it enables me to meet wonderful people along the way.

For everyone that is not sure whether it makes sense for them to do a doctoral colloquium: I can definitely recommend it!