Entrepreneurship and UK doctoral graduates

Copyright c 2011 IP Publishing Ltd. Reproduced by permissionThis paper discusses the experience of UK doctoral graduates in pursuing entrepreneurial careers: there is evidence that this applies to a substantial number - about 10% - of doctoral graduates. The nature of their experience was explored using 37 interviews with doctoral entrepreneurs. The research was funded by Vitae (www.vitae.ac.uk), an organization championing the personal, professional and career development of doctoral researchers and research staff in UK higher education. The stories that the participants tell suggest that doctoral entrepreneurship develops out of a complex interaction between the personality and skills of the entrepreneurs and the environment in which they operate. In particular, the authors argue that the participants have mobilized a mix of financial, social and educational capital in order to create and sustain their enterprises successfully

A participative research for learning methodology on education doctoral training programmes

Purpose – This paper aims to outline a participative approach to researching education doctoral students’ trajectories that functions both as a form of training in research methodology and as a means of reflection on the doctoral trajectory and what doctoral students have brought to the doctoral process through their experience. Design/methodology/approach – Ten participants formed dyads and acted as both researchers and subjects of research, using narrative accounts and interviews. The collaborative approach aimed to allow “hands-on” experience of the selected methods, as well as full engagement in negotiating each stage of the project. Findings – Project group meetings and the data generated by participants provided a rich source of learning about methodological issues in education research, in addition to the personal understandings emerging from such a project. Originality/value – This project reports an approach to “hands-on” learning of methodological and ethical issues within doctoral development programmes that could be adapted for use on similar programmes. It suggests an alternative to the more common forms of doctoral training (such asexposition, discussion, reading, or simulation) that is of real value to doctoral students in that it enables deep reflection on the journeys that have brought students to doctoral study, whilst at the same time providing a rich resource for methodological learning.</p