Hello.
My name is Alfonso Vargas, a Spanish Full Professor of Business Administration,
with a specialization in Strategic Management as well as in Tourism Management
as the main research area.
Firstly,
I would like to send a warm greeting to all the authorities present at this
event (his Excellency Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture, DIT
Rector, and others), and, of course, to the whole audience. I consider a
genuine honor the opportunity to participate in this event by addressing a few
words to all of you and, in this manner, renew my academic and emotional bonds
with East Timor and Dili Institute of Technology, which began to be forged 5
years ago during my unforgettable visit. Thanks, therefore, for this kind
invitation, particularly to Dr Manuel Vong, and for the hospitality and
affection that you showed me on every occasion.
Having
said that let me start with a historical parallelism. The image you see in the
background of the screen is not accidental. It was chosen because it corresponds
to an iconic place in the city where I was born, Huelva, where the connection
between the West and the East, the connection with a new world, began. What you
see on the right-hand side is a monumental statue dedicated to Christopher
Columbus looking at the infinite horizon in a very close place from which his
three ships left in 1492. That is, dedicated to his faith, and that of the
sailors who accompanied him. That faith made possible what seemed impossible: to
discover what we know nowadays as America.
You
all, today, are showing great faith in academic training at the highest level,
as a way to contribute decisively to the development of your country through
new knowledge generation. For this purpose, there is no better investment than
education, and the last stage in this process is the training of doctors.
Therefore, for the courage you show in assuming this not minor challenge, my
most sincere congratulations.
Last
year I had also the chance to address the audience, perhaps some or many of you
were present, at an event in support of Dili Institute of Technology’s
initiative to launch a Ph.D. program in Business Administration for the first
time in East Timor.
Last
year DIT was planning this program as
part of its academic offer, with evident complementarities with its already-in-operation Master in Business Administration. Now it is ready and about to start,
an achievement that I have received with great satisfaction, particularly for a
young, private, and not-for-profit higher education institution established in
2002: only 21 years old. Again, what seemed impossible has been made real. This
is your merit.
Although
I consider the establishment of a Ph.D. program as the natural and, therefore,
right step forward to consolidate the institutional positioning of DIT in the
domain of business studies and serve the educational needs of East Timor in
this field, at the same time it is fair to recognize that this is an enormous
challenge. Moving from the application of the existing stock of knowledge to the
generation of new knowledge will demand a very significant institutional
effort, with the application of human and material resources to train
researchers and to provide them with the necessary means to produce scientific
dissertations, particularly in the form of publishable papers.
The
combination of senior researchers from different parts of the globe together
with the implication of the business and institutional fabric of East Timor
will be essential to match academic excellence and the country's requirements,
through an effective bridge that channels the transfer of the newly generated
knowledge. In other words, the combination of academic and social relevance.
In
short, it is my pleasure to declare again my commitment to helping DIT in its
endeavor to build a reputable Ph.D. program. Receive, thus, my heartfelt
congratulations for assuming this great challenge with enthusiasm, and my very
best wishes to all the participants: students, facilitators, supervisors,
administrative staff, and institutional authorities. Be sure that you all will contribute
to East Timor's prosperity, and this is a mission as fascinating as rewarding.
After
38 years of experience in the university world, after having supervised 19 Ph.D.
dissertations and having served as examiner of 90 dissertations in various countries, as well as 12 years of
experience as editor-in-chief of a Scopus journal in the scientific area of
tourism, and, humbly, an extensive record of publications, I would like to
convey a message particularly addressed to those who have decided to start this
adventure of pursuing a Ph.D. degree, it doesn’t matter what of the five
concentrations you have chosen (Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, Tourism or
Public Management).
Dear
doctoral students, let’s start by acknowledging that this is a long and hard
way. Likely, on some occasions, when you suffer more difficulties, you will
look in the mirror trying to convince yourself that making this decision was a
good idea. You will devote a lot of effort, energy and many hours to reaching
your goal. As it is a long process, during these years is critical not to feel
alone. Thus, please share your concerns with your facilitators and supervisors,
who will be always there to offer his/her hand in the form of experienced
guidance. Create a community with other Ph.D. students for mutual support: you
can help each other. To sum up, loneliness must be overcome.
Since
today Ph.D. dissertations are usually a compendium of articles, the same will
happen to you when writing and publishing scientific papers. In this line, let
me share with you, very briefly, part of my experience in this field, with some
suggestions about common mistakes to avoid. So, please:
*Choose
a relevant research question based on a deep literature review.
*Design
a sound study from a methodological point of view.
*Perform
the work with impeccable integrity and attention to detail.
*Write
an excellent manuscript (in English, I am afraid).
*Submit
it to the right journal: consider carefully its focus and scope and if your
paper fits them.
*Respond
to reviewers’ comments fully.
*Complete
the standard post-acceptance checks of the journal.
*Don’t
get discouraged if there are rejections: we have all had them, but this is a
valuable source of learning and improvement.
Not
a minor task, as you can realize.
I
do not want to take longer. Just start “Building tomorrow’s minds”. That is
brilliant.
Bye
for now and thank you for your attention. Please receive my kindest regards and
best wishes to all.
Huelva (Spain), 24 August 2023
(Post n° 447 in this blog)
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