Research stay in Utrecht

© Nils Eisfeld

Tom Dudda (Chair of Business Administration, esp. Finance and Financial Technology) was guest at the Finanance section of the Utrecht School of Economics (U.S.E.), Netherlands.

How did the research stay come about? How much time has passed from the first idea to implementation? Were there any hurdles in planning your stay?
The host of my stay was Dr. Thomas Walther (Associate Professor of Finance with U.S.E.). Thomas is one of my co-authors on several research projects that I have been working on as part of my PhD at TUD. Since I am now in the final phase of my PhD, this was a great opportunity to work intensively on-site with Thomas toward the successful completion of our joint papers. We came up with the idea of a research stay at U.S.E. about a year earlier. I finalized the official Hospitality Agreement with Utrecht University approximately two to three months before the research stay. The process of being accepted as a visiting researcher at U.S.E. was very professionally organized and straightforward. The only real challenge was finding accommodation in Utrecht, which seems to be a common issue in other major cities in the Netherlands as well.

What can you tell us about your stay in Utrecht? How did the collaboration work?
From the very beginning, I was warmly integrated into the Finance Section and had the opportunity to participate in many internal research seminars—not only in Finance but also in Entrepreneurship and Economics. In addition to working on our joint papers, I developed the idea for my single-authored paper during my research stay. Also, I was able to present this idea, along with some initial empirical results, at the Finance Section's research seminar at the end of my stay. Since the research-intensive Finance Section at U.S.E. is very broad, with over 20 professors, I particularly benefited from the outstanding expertise of the researchers at U.S.E. as well as from the high-profile guests invited to the research seminars. Additionally, I had the opportunity to present another paper at the Entrepreneurship Section's research seminar and, through my contacts at U.S.E., also at Maastricht University. I probably had an especially great start, as we spent my second day at the largest amusement park in the Netherlands as part of a department outing… :-)

What experiences do you take back to Dresden?
I’m happy to be able to look back on many great and valuable experiences from this short but very intense time in Utrecht. I believe that a research stay during a PhD is extremely beneficial, as it allows you to broaden your professional network and gain valuable academic insights. In particular, I really appreciated the highly international and research-driven culture at U.S.E. The PhD students, researchers, and other staff were all incredibly open, friendly, and supportive. For this reason, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again for the wonderful time I had in Utrecht! I would also like to sincerely thank the Graduate Academy and Prof. Dr. Lars Hornuf for funding my stay. Finally, beyond my academic experiences, I loved the cycling culture in the Netherlands and was able to enrich my culinary experiences with Dutch (mainly fried) delicacies.