Ibhade Akpede is a second-year PhD candidate in management studies at the University of Exeter Business School. Her research focuses on paradoxical tensions in firms adopting sustainable business models. She is interested in the interplay between paradoxical tensions and institutional voids, for example, in the context of developing economies. She enjoys travelling, fine dining, and sightseeing. Below, she discusses her inspiration for establishing the Business School PGR Support Network with the support of Researcher-led Initiative funding.
The Business School is the home of the Economics, Management, and Accounting & Finance departments. I observed that PGRs across these disciplines worked in silos and did not interact with colleagues from outside their discipline. While there are shared workspaces for Business School PGRs, such as Hope Hall, this did not facilitate interdisciplinary connections. To ensure that we were getting the most out of our PhD journey, my co-lead (Wuraola Okuwobi) and I sought opportunities to increase collaborations among PGRs based on shared interests. We decided to launch a peer-support network for business school PGRs. We hoped this would facilitate connections in an informal setting, through an event organised by PGRs for PGRs. Beyond this one event, we planned to continue conversations on our research ideas through informal meetings at the PGR reading hub in Hope Hall. Supported by the Researcher Led Initiative funding (RLI 2025), we organised a workshop titled âThe Business School PGR Workshopâ.
The workshop attracted 20 PGRs. The first session was a keynote speech by Justin Tumlinson, an Associate Professor (Reader) in Business Analytics at the business school. Drawing from his personal research journey, he spoke about the merits of thriving rather than surviving in academia. This was followed by a wellbeing and mindfulness session by a Psychologist from Body and Mind Therapy (BAM), Dr. Kayleigh Darch. In another session, ten academics from across the business school came to speak with us about their research projects and how we could support them if we shared similar research interests. After a lovely lunch, which also served as a networking session, we proceeded to the Creative Quadrant for an Innoplay session. We engaged in creative activities to explore interdisciplinary research collaboration opportunities. Through activities such as the mycelium, we found out how our research linked to others, thus opening opportunities for further engagement after the event.
The feedback from the attendees was very positive. This event and further informal sessions have led to increased engagement among the business school PGRs. We communicate better with each other, discuss our research more freely, and engage in banter. Hence, the launch of the PGR support network is deemed a success.
