The DBA celebrates its first five theses

Comillas Pontifical Univeristy recently held its first “DBA Afterwork”,which was attended by students from the four graduating classes of the DBA in Management and Technology attended, as well as future candidates for this three-year programme. It is a three-year doctoral programme that combines training in research methods and courses on specific subjects, like Management and Innovation, Disruptive Business Models (in collaboration with MIT) or Legal and Ethical Challenges, with research and innovation work that ends with the defence of a thesis. Candidates in the programme have on average 25 years of professional experience, hold a senior management position and come from different industries. The combination of this diversity, experience, training and reflection could not have been more satisfactory.

While it is true that there are many training opportunities available to young people, when it comes to seeking ambitious training at a later age, with an established career, then the options are more limited. For that, the DBA in Management and Technology “is very enriching, as it is a training for managers, beyond short courses, and offers opportunities to answer our challenges as managers” as all those who have already taken this DBA agreed.

This DBA, under the coordination of its two centres, Comillas ICADE and Comillas ICAI, aims to develop a new profile of professionals and managers who can apply the latest academic developments to management situations that require a deep understanding of new technologies and their potential. All this, without forgetting about the humanistic tradition of Comillas Pontifical University, which contributes to the critical spirit of the candidates.

Time to celebrate
After four years since the start of the programme in Comillas, it is good to stop and dedicate some quality time to celebrate together the successes to date of this programme. Among all the success, there are five theses that have been defended to date. One of them, by Cleber Custodio, received an award from the Real Academia de Doctores de España for his work on Big Data and auditing. The next three theses already have a public defense date: Juan José Adroher (14 April, 12 p. m.), Carlos de Abajo (27 April, 6 p. m.) and Javier Sanz (18 May, 12 p. m.). All readers of this article are cordially invited to these academic events.

The event counted on the presence of Galo de Reyna, cofounder of @ iF lastmile, talked about the digital solutions in e-commerce for reverse logistics. As he said, "returns already account for 20-30% of e-commerce sales, eroding more than 50% of the sale value in some sectors, such as online fashion. It is the moment to address the returns problem and turn it into a competitive advantage by focusing on digitalization and traceability on the entire chain, optimising returns to recover maximum value and promoting the consolidation of returns to reduce environmental impact.”

This meeting also served to celebrate the progress of ongoing research and the transition to the research phase of the students of the third promotion. Some future candidates attended the event to learn first-hand about the DBA experience at Comillas and to get the best information about the DBA in Management and Technology. They all had the opportunity to talk with some students who described, first-hand, what this programme had meant to them.

A student from the first graduating class said that for him it was “an adventure, I did not know what I was getting into.” “There was no possibility like there is today to talk to alumni about the programme. It was something new, and for me it was a great adventure. The curiosity to keep learning and to open my mind to things that have fallen off of my radar, encouraged me. The DBA programme has allowed me to awaken all these neglected interests, such as the dialogue between science and humanism. It was gratifying to see that management, technology, social sciences and humanism can be approached together.”

The reasons to address a DBA are several. As another student explained, “each one of us had different things in mind. In my case, it was to contribute a small seed I brought from my professional field and make it grow with academic rigour. This seed awakened with the conversations I had with lecturers and students. The directors of the DBA also helped me approach the subject of my research. Furthermore, the DBA has given me the opportunity to establish new interactions with the university world and connect with very interesting people from other fields.”

Another student from the third graduating class said that “the technical skills he acquired throughout his professional career are important, but it is also important to keep up with changes in society and technology. The availability of data is changing the way in which companies work, and this opens new opportunities and challenges. It is important to be ready to face these changes and be able to adapt to them.”

The first “DBA Afterwork” celebrated the first four years of the programme with its first results, five big DBA theses in which their authors tried to answer their research questions and, at the same time, create an impact for their organizations, their environment and society.