Henley Business School Back to the Future PhD Event 2026

We warmly invite PhD and DBA students, as well as academic colleagues from across Henley Business School, to join us for this event. The event will be held in a hybrid format, with in-person attendance encouraged in Room LG01, Henley Business School, Whiteknights Campus. Remote participation will also be available via Microsoft Teams.

Now in its eighth year, the Back to the Future PhD Event was founded, and continues to be led, by Dr Matteo Borghi, Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Originally established within the Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation Department, it has grown into a school-wide event bringing together doctoral researchers and academic colleagues from across Henley Business School.

Through a series of engaging presentations and Q&A sessions, our speakers will share insights, experiences, and practical advice to help current doctoral researchers envision and shape their own futures.

Please complete the MS form here to confirm your attendance: Henley Business School “Back to the Future” PhD Event 2026 - Attendance Form – Fill in form

Agenda

• 14:00 – Welcome, coffee, refreshments and snacks
• 14:15 – Opening Remarks by Professor Yelena Kalyuzhnova and Professor Stephen Gulliver
• 14:25 – “From Industry to Academia: Researcher Identity, Empowering Support and Progression on the PhD Journey” – Dr Obiageli Heidelberger-Nkenke (Lecturer in Personal Development and Organisational Behaviour – Leadership, Organisations, Behaviour and Reputation department)
• 14:55 – “Time Horizons: Building an International Academic Career, from PhD to Lectureship” – Dr Xinrui Zhang (Lecturer in Entrepreneurship – Digitalisation, Marketing and Entrepreneurship department)
• 15:25 – “From City Planner to Economist: Turning a PhD into a Research Pipeline” – Dr Lukas Makovsky (Lecturer in Real Estate – Real Estate & Planning department)
• 15:55 – Closing Remarks – Dr Matteo Borghi
• 16:00–16:30 – Optional networking and informal discussion

The event is part of Henley Business School's ongoing commitment to strengthening connections between faculty and doctoral researchers and supporting the development of the next generation of researchers and academics.