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If you know a suitable candidate who might be interested, please forward this information:

Take your PhD in an exciting and booming area: Entrepreneurship!

Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as a major factor in economic and societal development. As a result, Entrepreneurship has grown to become one of the major fields of inquiry within economic, organizational and management research. Further, there are many signs that policy, media, academic, and student interest in Entrepreneurship is rapidly rising in Australia today, not least due to the economic, technological, and environmental challenges and opportunities of the future. In short, it is an area within which advanced knowledge is likely to be in high demand.

The Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research (ACE) at Queensland University of Technology, Australia, is the national leader and internationally highly recognized in this field.  We feature strongly in leading scholarly journals, conferences, associations and collaborative research projects around the world, thereby providing an excellent environment for research and research training under engaged and competent supervision. ACE is situated within the QUT Business School, which is one of the largest and strongest business faculties in Australia and the first to achieve "Triple Crown Accreditation" (AACSB; AMBA; EQUIS).

ACE is now looking to recruit additional Ph.D. students for commencement in 2016. We embrace a broad variety of research topics within the Entrepreneurship domain (e.g., creation of new business and social ventures; corporate entrepreneurship and renewal; innovation and innovative small business management). At this point, we are particularly interested in recruiting research students with interest and/or prior knowledge in the following areas:

·         The role of age in Entrepreneurship (e.g., youth and senior entrepreneurship)

Technological disruption and demographic development create particular challenges and opportunities relating to the productive economic participation of individuals across their life cycle. Youth and senior entrepreneurship is an important, potential answer to these challenges and opportunities. These previously relatively neglected phenomena afford an opportunity for asking and answering important questions of high scholarly and policy interest.

·         What makes new venture ideas successful?

An important perspective in Entrepreneurship research focuses on the nexus of individuals and the "opportunity" or "new venture idea" they are trying to realize. While we have good knowledge about how individuals can be characterized and how to assess the effects of these characteristics, the state of knowledge is much less developed for the other part of the nexus. Can we develop effective ways of categorising new venture ideas and assess their impact on entrepreneurial behaviour and success?

·         Entrepreneurship and commercialization within QUTs strong technology domains (e.g., robotic vision; biomedical innovation; tropical plants and biocommodities)

Situating your research within the university's technological strongholds has multiple benefits. Access to a technology frontier provides fascinating, cutting edge insights into emerging technology as well as its commercialization. It also provides a "laboratory" that has methodological advantages, and therefore we increasingly see studies focusing on a single technology or industry niche getting published in leading scholarly journals. Moreover, your ability to provide business insight into these technology areas means the benefit is mutual, making for an enjoyable and productive partnership. 

Taking a Ph.D. is a big undertaking. It is a much bigger intellectual challenge than previous degrees you may have undertaken, and not just about adding another degree to your CV. It requires excellent academic aptitude; independent creative thinking and writing, as well as stamina and hard work. It can also be a very rewarding, developmental, and even life-changing journey that sets you up for interesting careers within and outside of academia. At ACE, you can expect your own, dedicated work to be supported by a team of friendly and quality-focused mentors and colleagues. 

Applications need to be lodged through the QUT system. See information HERE and HERE

Scholarships need to be applied for separately. See information HERE. Note that the current round of scholarship applications closes on September 30, 2015. We also encourage you to seek additional funding HERE if you can fulfil the criteria.

For candidates who for some reason currently do not fulfil all the requirements for direct entry into PhD studies or scholarship there are other research degrees and pathways to Ph.D. admission and funding. Please see HERE. If you are opting for such a pathway, you can, for example, nominate IF49 as "course code" and write "PHD + BS69" in "name of course" on the application form. For particularly promising applicants ACE could consider providing bridging- or top-up scholarships.

Last but not least, ACE and QUT are located in Brisbane, which is a fast growing, highly liveable city of 1.7 million with an unbeatable climate and easy access to the beaches at Gold and Sunshine Coasts as well as the rainforest parks in the hinterland. See here for further information about Brisbane.

For further inquiries regarding your interest in research studies at ACE please contact ace.business@qut.edu.au.

We are looking forward to receiving your application, but please do NOT send your formal application to my personal email address (and not to this listserv!)!

Best Regards,

Per

Per Davidsson | Professor | Director & Talbot Family Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship, Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research (ACE) | QUT Business School (Management) | Room Z757 | Phone: +61 7 3138 2051 | Fax: +61 now wait a minute -- that was a while ago, wasn't it? | Mobile: you wish... | Email: per.davidsson@qut.edu.au | website: www.qut.edu.au/business/ace |CRICOS No. 00213J | Postal address: Queensland University of Technology |GP Room Z757 |2 George Street, GPO Box 2434 | Brisbane Qld 4001 |Australia