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Doctor of Business Administration – 2 years program from a prestigious, top global research institution in the World. Polish Academy of Science.

 

The Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (hereafter INE PAN) is the most advanced and prestigious Polish research center in the field of economic and business studies. Its mission is to explore, analyze and evaluate economic processes, and make its findings effectively available to all those who dare to take a critical and active attitude towards their lives and careers and seek answers to difficult questions, being convinced that earth belongs to those whose heart and mind are never complacent, inert and unexcited. To fulfill this mission the Institute engages in various activities, one of which is to run the Two-Year Executive Doctor of Business Administration Program in English.

The Program is taught by scholars and researchers of INE PAN as well as by visiting practitioners and experts. We are proud of their achievements, professionalism, dedication, and engagement so much appreciated by all program participants. Among them there are such distinguished economists as:
  • Marek Belka, President of the National Bank of Poland;
  • Grzegorz Kolodko, former Deputy Prime-Minister and Minister of Finance of the Republic of Poland;
  • Jerzy Osiatynski, Advisor to the President of Poland and former Minister of Finance;
  • Jerzy Hausner, Member of the Monetary Policy Council at the National Bank of Poland;
  • Kazimierz Laski, Senior Research Associate and former Director of Research at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies; and
  • Zdzislaw Sadowski, Honorary President of the Polish Economic Society.
INE PAN has two peer-review journals which it publishes regularly: the Economic Studies and the Polish Economy – Forecasts and Opinions. It also issues monographs and working papers to report on its recent research findings. Proceedings of conferences and international seminars organized by the Institute are regularly printed as well. Many research projects conducted by INE PAN have international partners. The Institute is a member of several scientific international associations.
All classes are held in well-equipped classrooms with computers, overheard projectors, etc. Everybody has Wi-Fi access to the Internet and to one’s online program participant account (to download course materials, find information about class schedule or exam results, follow one’s payment record, etc.). Participants receive access to the libraries. Everyone also receives a password to enter several online databases with thousands of journals and magazines that one may read wherever one has an Internet access.
www.arabiancampus.com

The EDBA Program is carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland and the EU Bologna Process.

The program consists of eight modules (two modules in each semester, four semesters during two academic years) and a research paper.
Upon finishing the EDBA Program (completing eight modules and presenting a research paper), the student receives the degree of Doctor of Business Administration.

A DBA certificate and a DBA diploma are issued by the Institute of Economics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

For candidates who show inclination for in-depth scientific study and research there is a possibility of continuing for two extra years which results in writing (under supervision of a chosen professor) a PhD dissertation and defending it. Leading to a PhD in Economics.

Usually, candidates seek the certificate of completion of doctoral studies and the DBA degree without subsequent writing and defending of the PhD dissertation.

The EDBA Program has an edge over other similar program in that it nurtures, encourages and develops participants’ competences of problem-solving, cause-effect analysis, and strategic planning.

Graduates are proud to join international associations of DBA holders, and critically reflect upon their own business experience, but also enter a qualitatively new level of understanding of difficulties at their workplaces and have enough intellectual courageousness and acumen to see how these may be resolved.

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Why get a Ph.D.? Advice for those in doubt.

It is very fashionable these days in the world of arts and entertainment to create prequels. As opposed to sequels, telling readers/viewers what happened next to their favorite characters or plots, prequels go back in time. I find myself following this trend and writing a prequel to my post on how to avoid Ph.D. drop–out.
One of the comments to the above-mentioned post made me think that one of the best ways to minimize Ph.D. drop-out rates is to select the best candidates for the job. The next logical question is: Why follow a Ph.D.?

Why go for a Ph.D.? There are as many reasons as people, you may say, but perhaps these motivations can be systematized in some general categories. The disinterested reason most often given is that people go for a Ph.D. because of their thirst for knowledge. Simply put, Ph.D. students are those with high degree of internal motivation that stems from their inborn curiosity and love of intellectual pursuits. They are expected that after they obtain their degree they will metamorphose into scholars for whom also the temptation of researching new and exciting subjects is irresistible, or at least preferable to all other choices.
But is it so that one can satisfy this desire for deeper understanding only by enrolling in a Ph.D. program? Are there no other avenues for the interested mind than university-based research programs? Certainly we all know the answer: there are other opportunities to drive research projects outside the academia. Sometimes access to these opportunities is conditioned by having received a Ph.D. from a university, but I would not claim this to be the absolute rule. Think-tanks and research institutes do hire capable minds with or without the diploma.
There are other reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. though, let them be called more pragmatic. In this sense, the doctoral degree is not just a passport to a world of research and new knowledge. The degree is a valuable asset that increases one’s chances for obtaining higher paid, more satisfying jobs. It is seen as an investment, a certificate of one’s special abilities that gives advantages on the job market.
While it is true that Ph.D. holders do get higher salaries, the higher education market is not one of the most rewarding in terms of financial stability. There are few available jobs, there is a lot of tough competition and the salary of a professional is lower here than in the industry. So the Ph.D. diploma is valuable if its possessor is interested in the non-academic job market. However, how many of the Fortune 100 people hold a doctorate? Not many. On the contrary, there are numerous among these who are drop-outs (even before finishing a Bachelor). So if you want to be really financially prosperous, then Ph.D. degrees are not for you.
There are other pragmatic reasons that motivate students to continue their education to the Ph.D. level. Coming from the times when these diplomas were reserved for a minuscule segment of the population, the doctoral degree is a seen as a prestige marker, the recognition of one’s exceptional talents and the certificate of belonging to the intellectual elite. The non-material rewards that a Ph.D. is supposed to bring, at least theoretically, are connected to social standing; Ph.D.’s can be used as a vehicle for upwards social mobility, and for the fulfillment of personal and family ambitions.
The prestige power of the Ph.D. is however on the wane. With mass education, the number of doctorate holders increased exponentially, so that the elite membership and the high social status coupled with it weakened. Especially in connection with a decrease in salary size for university professionals, doctorate holders may be seen as exceptional but quirky: why choose to specializes narrowly, work so many hours, and for so little pay when one could get a more lucrative employment elsewhere?
Some people are driven to pursue a Ph.D. because of pragmatic reasons that are not of their own making. The Ph.D. is not the first-hand choice, but the one imposed by necessities. If the job market does not offer attractive alternatives, or if entry to the job market is prohibited because of immigration status, then pursuing the highest academic degree is the choice for students who under other circumstances would have opted for a position in the industry and not in the research field.
Why did you choose to pursue a Ph.D.? Or why did you decide against a Ph.D.?
Anamaria writes from Lund, Sweden. She is one of the founding members of the editorial collective at University of Venus.