Chenxi Liao
International Management Studies PhD Student
Thanks to the superb academic resources and supportive atmosphere available at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, my five years in the marketing PhD program were one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life. Joining the program with a limited understanding of academia, I learned how to become a real scholar over the five years, and was able to finally achieve my childhood dream and launch my academic career after graduation.
The faculty members at JSOM are all serious and impactful scholars in their fields, and they really care about students. They offer well-organized core courses to give us a sold training in quantitative methods. They cover various topics in elective seminars to let us have a good grasp of frontier research. They share their insightful comments on how to identify important research questions and conduct good research projects. They also regularly invite scholars from other leading institutions to give guest speeches and provide additional opportunities of exchanging ideas.
The vivid research environment at JSOM benefited me a lot. I started a collaborative research project with my advisor in the first year of my PhD study, which examined the effect of consumers’ showroom behavior on retailer profit. This research turned into a published paper in a top marketing journal after three years.
Later, I also made good progress in the other projects on the topics of my interests. I couldn’t have achieved this without the resources and training I obtained at JSOM.
I am also very thankful to fellow students in the PhD program. PhD life can be tough and lonely. But whenever I encountered difficulties in study or research, I got some wise advice from my fellow students. And even when I felt down because I could not make my family and college friends understand what I was struggling with, my kind fellow students were always there, having my back. I was so fortunate to have their support along my PhD journey and form a lasting friendship.
