UGBS Department of Finance Holds Workshop to Build Doctoral Research Capacity
The Department of Finance, in collaboration with the PhD Programmes Unit of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), organised a PhD Seminar and Workshop on Monday, 9th December 2025, at the School’s Graduate Campus. The workshop was coordinated by Dr. Emmanuel Joel Aikins Abakah, with the Head of the Department of Finance, Prof. Vera O. Fiador, in attendance. The guest speaker for the seminar was Prof. Alfred Yawson from the University of Adelaide Business School, Australia. The event drew PhD and MPhil candidates from the University of Ghana and other institutions. In attendance were Dr. Jabir Mohammed and Dr. Nicholas Asare from UGBS.
Prof. Yawson delivered a presentation on “Navigating the PhD Journey and Publishing in High Impact Journals.” He shared insights from his extensive research and supervision experience, providing participants with a clearer understanding of the PhD process. He clarified the basics of research, including how to choose suitable research topics. He caused that papers based on overly familiar, very narrow, or broadly defined topics are often rejected by publishers because it can be hard to establish a clear thesis.
He further discussed factors that influence topic selection, identifying gaps in existing literature, and formulating research questions, emphasising that a strong research question provides the needed focus for scholarly work. Prof. Yawson also explained the relevance of developing a sound methodology and managing effective supervisor–student relationships. He advised that building a strong rapport with supervisors significantly enhances one's chances of completing the PhD. He noted that students should be open and honest, meet agreed deadlines, exhibit professionalism, and maintain regular communications with supervisors. Prof. Fiador also shared her PhD journey and offered practical guidance on working effectively with supervisors and adopting strategies that improve the research process.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Abakah, the Coordinator of the PhD Programmes Unit at UGBS, thanked Prof. Fiador for the support in organising the workshop. He thanked Prof. Yawson for the enlightening and impactful presentation and agreeing to continue with Part 2 of his presentation in the coming weeks on “Publishing in Top-Tier Journals.” Dr. Abakah encouraged the students who attended the workshop to take bold risks to develop their research skills and capacity here at UGBS. He announced that several initiatives to support PhD and MPhil candidates will be unveiled in the coming weeks and urged all students to participate fully. He emphasised that the main goal is to help students become skilled researchers.