Although many people find the prospect of returning to education daunting, Dr Carolanne O’Mahony found a wide range of supports in place at CUBS to help ease the transition.
One of the most powerful things about academic study is the opportunity it affords students to reflect and apply their insights.
For Carolanne O’Mahony, a recent PhD in Business Information Systems (BIS) graduate, academic research gave her the opportunity to further develop analytical skills and pass on the management skills she attained while working at Dell.
Although many people find the prospect of returning to education daunting, Carolanne found a wide range of supports in place at CUBS to help ease the transition.
Now a lecturer in the BIS department, her research topic contributes to the growing field of E-health research, which is a speciality at Cork University Business School.
‘I selected the PhD in BIS from UCC because of the training and support offered in first year… I had always wanted to pursue further education and researched several options.’
‘However, it is daunting returning to education. I did not have academic research experience and was not sure of what topic I wanted to research. The PhD in BIS allowed me time in the first year to develop research skills and choose my PhD topic.’
‘In the end I chose to focus my PhD on the Information Behaviour of Expectant and New Mothers. My PhD was a longitudinal study, with the objective of producing design guidelines for better online eHealth Resources.’
‘As part of the programme, PhD candidates are given two supervisors which I think is an advantage over other programmes. Having two supervisors gives you an extra layer of support and an extra person to discuss and debate ideas with.’
‘A PhD is a very personal journey, and it is very important to have people who understand, and who you can discuss ideas with. I found my supervisors very good for this. I also found my other PhD candidates very supportive as we all shared a lab and we often bounced ideas off each other.’