who wants to be a professor? - INSEAD - PhD Programme

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMDkvMDcvMDYjQXIwNT...7/7/2009WHO WANTS TO BE A PROFESSOR?Publication: Times Of India Delhi;Date: Jul 6, 2009; Section: Education Times; Page: 59Page 1 of 2WHO WANTS TO BE A PROFESSOR?BESIDES THE FACT THAT THEY CAN EARN STARTINGSALARIES OF OVER 1,00,000 EUROS,THEY ALSO ENJOY AGREAT DEGREE OF FREEDOM ANDFLEXIBILITY.ASHWAMEGH BANERJEE FINDS OUT WHYPEOPLE ARE APPLYING TO INSEAD FOR A PHD,AND NOTJUST AN MBAFOR most PhD students at various universities, the next step is often to go into public administration or industry ashighly qualified specialists who carry out sophisticated analysis. At INSEAD, however, these students are beingtrained to carry out research that produces ‘new’ knowledge. “The goal is faculty positions, usually as assistantprofessors, at leading global B-schools,” informs Christoph Loch, dean of INSEAD’s PhD programme.So, in effect, the school is preparing ‘quality faculty’ for its competitors. “We do not hire our own students as amatter of principle, unless they have first gained tenure somewhere else. So yes, we are indeed preparing qualityfaculty for our competitors,” says Loch. But curious as this move may seem, he maintains that the school derivesbenefit from such an initiative. “This puts us on the map, because someone who has earned a PhD at INSEAD willrepresent us for the rest of their lives. This enhances our standing and, in turn, attracts top talented young faculty tocome to us.”RIGOROUS RESEARCHThe programme was started in 1989 as a continuation of INSEAD’s strategy to go from a predominantly teachingorientedschool to a premier research school. It hoped that the presence of talented PhD students would pushresearch activities further, and the successful placement of these students at B-schools would help bolster its positionas a premier producer of ideas. Over 20 years, the programme has been “phenomenally successful,” says Loch. Headds, “Of our 110 graduates, over 90% are in academic positions as faculty at B-schools, and many at top schools inthe US, Europe and Asia. We have become one of the leading schools to offer business PhD programmes in theworld.”Today, the school claims to attract some ‘very young people of extremely high talent’ to the programme and alsoaccepts ‘slightly older people’ (in their 30s) with substantial experience who apply this experience to rigorousresearch. And while 20-30% of the class has an MBA background, it is not a prerequisite.WHY PHD?Why would ‘very young people of extremely high talent’ be interested in becoming B-school professors? To this Lochsays, “B-school professors do not spend their time sitting in dark offices reading old leather-bound books with dust ontheir covers. They have to teach MBA students and managers in executive seminars about state-of-the-artmanagement and leadership methods. That means that they go out and write cases, consult, advise and evaluatecompanies on a regular basis.” A side effect of this broad range of activities is that B-school faculty earn attractivesalaries. “Starting salaries at internationally active business schools are significantly above 1,00,000 euros,” he adds.And there are other benefits as well. As a PhD student of decision science at INSEAD, Kriti Jain, points out, “Mydecision to pursue the doctoral programme came from my desire to have the freedom and flexibility to make my ownchoices in life. You get to experience two campuses (in Singapore and France), gain from the INSEAD-Whartonalliance for your research needs, learn in a truly multicultural setting (my cohort includes a Korean, Argentinean andGerman, among others) and learn from and work with the best minds.” Jain also adds that contrary to mostundergraduate and graduate degrees where you pay to learn, most doctoral programmes instead pay you to learn.www.insead.edu/phd

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