PhDreams – The Podcast for Academic Careers in Business and Economics

In this eighth episode of PhDreams, Alex and Anatoli are joined by Professor Simona Botti from London Business School and Professor Michael Haenlein from ESCP Business School in Paris to take a deep dive into one of the most pressing questions in academia today: How should we deal with the rise of artificial intelligence in the research and peer-review process? We discuss the sense—and sometimes nonsense—of journal AI policies, why asking PhD students to work the way their advisors did 30 years ago may no longer make much sense, and how the academic system itself might need to evolve as AI becomes an increasingly integral part of research and publishing. Beyond the practicalities, we also explore some bigger questions: Which academic skills will remain essential in the age of AI? What should we outsource to LLMs—and what should we deliberately continue doing ourselves? And could the growing use of AI ultimately change the joy and fulfillment we derive from creating academic work? Tune in for an open, thoughtful, and refreshingly candid conversation with two leading scholars who have been at the forefront of thinking about what AI means for academic research. If you'd like to suggest a topic or submit a question for a future episode, send us a text or voice recording at [email protected].

In this seventh episode of PhDreams, Alex is joined by his guests Professor Beth Fossen from Indiana University and Professor Alex Bleier from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management to discuss conference presentations. Both are among the most engaging and skilled presenters in our field. We explore tips for crafting your best presentation decks (often less is more), suggest ways to deal with difficult questions during talks (try to create positive vibes), and talk about ways to prevent that nobody shows up to your presentation (invite your friends). Tune in to learn how to take your academic presentations to the next level! If you'd like to suggest a topic or submit a question for a future episode, send us a text or voice recording at [email protected].

In this sixth episode of PhDreams, we are joined by our guests Professor Abhishek Borah from INSEAD and Professor Davide Proserpio from the University of Southern California to talk about data-driven academic research. Both Abhi and Davide agree that high-quality data is key to successful research projects and that empirical results often come first, followed by theoretical explanations. We also discuss why young academics should not be discouraged by seemingly strict data scraping regulations imposed by websites and journals, and we explore the pros and cons of the recent trends towards multi-method papers in marketing research. Finally, we answer a listener question about how to quickly evaluate the quality of data, so young researchers don't waste time on poor-quality sources. Tune in to hear the honest and transparent stories of these two leading data experts. If you'd like to suggest a topic or submit a question for a future episode, send us a text or voice recording at [email protected].

In this fifth episode of PhDreams, we are joined by our guests Professor Els Breugelmans from KU Leuven and Professor Martin Schreier WU Vienna to discuss work-life balance for academics. We find out that work-life balance is a very individual concept, which entails that there is more to life than work. We further explore that it can be useful for young academics to stay in the shadow as long as possible, why family should always come first, and how sports and other hobbies can help to disconnect and become more productive. In addition, we answer a listener question about our identity as researchers. Tune in to hear these two role models offer great advice on how to improve your well-being! If you'd like to suggest a topic or submit a question for a future episode, send us a text or voice recording at [email protected].

In this fourth episode of PhDreams, we are joined by our guest, Professor Simone Wies from Goethe University Frankfurt. We discuss academic services, the "third mission" of academics alongside research and teaching. We talk about the various levels of services, explore which requests to accept or decline, and demonstrate how academic service and scientific excellence can coexist. Additionally, we answer a listener's question about the pros and cons of personal websites for young scholars. Tune in to learn from Simone's great advice how to make services work best for you! If you'd like to submit a question for a future episode, send us a text or voice recording at [email protected].