UniAthena gets on Stage its DBA Research Scholars at the Annual Research Colloquium 2023

25th May 2023: Giving voice to the trailblazing Research Work of its Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) Program Student Scholars, UniAthena sparked off the first UniAthena Annual Research Colloquium from the 15th to the 20th of May 2023. 

The event was a six-day conclave wherein 80 DBA Research Scholars grabbed the incredible opportunity of driving intellectually stimulating discussions with their fellows! The entire Colloquium experience was leveled-up by 24 Original Research-led Presentations pitched and defended by UniAthena’s DBA Program Research Scholars -online, live, in real time!

At the inauguration ceremony of the event, Prof. Anil Ahluwalia, the Academic Director at UniAthena commented, "The Program was long due. We always wanted our DBA Researchers to showcase their work on a broader platform than participating in one-to-one thesis demonstrations. Surely, the whole collective brainstorming and idea exchange exercise will make a lasting impact on each of the DBA Researchers present at the Colloquium.” he said. 

The Colloquium week was super-motivational as the Chief DBA External Examiner at UniAthena & the Chief Guest at the Colloquium  - Dr. Andrew Hambler graced the event and shared his visionary thoughts post every research presentation. He advised Researchers on the Best Practices to adopt and pitfalls to avoid while undertaking a DBA Research Project. 

On day two of this invigorating Business Management Research meet,  a deep-probing session on “Doctoral Research - A Supervisor’s Perspective” was run by Dr. Marija Lazarev Zivanovic, one of our Research Supervisors. This lecture allowed the DBA aspirants to put themselves in the DBA Supervisors’ shoes and understand their perspectives. The presence of Dr. Olubunmi Agift Ajala and the entire team of Research Supervisors further helped in building up the intellectually-charged atmosphere at the Colloquium!

The entire DBA Colloquium show, from hosting to ensuring seamless dialogues and presentations, was captained by Dr. Sree Lakshmi, Head of Research Programs at UniAthena. 

At the end of the event, Prof. Anil Ahluwalia awarded the six most-remarkable DBA Presentations among the many saying thus, "Everyone was truly fantastic! The panel genuinely faced a lot of difficulties in choosing the best among the pool. Each presentation in its respective domain was simply exemplary! I appreciate the efforts of every awardee and presenter, and also thank the enthusiastic participants present at this meet.” 

The details of DBA Research Scholars who performed their Research exceptionally, are as the following:

• UniAthena Award for Excellence in Research: Elma Sibonghanoy Groenewald.
• UniAthena Award for Outstanding Research Paper: Hernani Custodio Pereira & Coenrad Adolf Groenewald.
• UniAthena Award for the Best Research Presentation of ARC 2023: Ian Seth Joule.
• UniAthena Award for Outstanding Contribution to Business Research in Environment and Sustainability: Sammy King Baiden.
• UniAthena Award for Outstanding Contribution to Business Research for a Humanitarian Cause: Patience Dapaah.
• UniAthena Award for the Best Participants of the Annual Research Colloquium - ARC - 2023: Curtis Dennie & Elizabeth Maina.

UniAthena’s present DBA learners who participated in the Colloquium were all praises for it. Pastora Brown, a 2023 DBA Learner said, “I am finding the Colloquium to be very helpful and encouraging for my DBA journey. A tremendous effort by faculty, staff, and researchers. A very good learning opportunity for me. My continued best wishes to all!” While another current DBA Learner, Gbenga opined, “This research colloquium is another major eye opener and helps with my current assignment and personal activities!”

In her Event Endnote Speech, Dr. Sree Lakshmi thanked her team and her learners for the success of the event and informed the audience that the second edition of the Annual Research Colloquium would be held in May 2024, next year.