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​Responsible business in the hyper-connected age

Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information

This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with the Research Council values. For 2025/6, this will be £20,780 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly. This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Home Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice. 

All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status. 

Application Closing Date:
Midday (UK Time) on Wednesday 16th April 2025 for a start date of the 1st September 2025. 

How to Apply

To apply, please follow the below steps:

  1. Complete the BCU Online Application Form here: Business PhD.
  2. Complete the Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.
  3. Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference).
  4. Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s).
  5. International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted here. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores.

Frequently Asked Questions

To help support you to complete your application, please consult the frequently asked questions below:

If your question is not answered above and you need any further information, please use the contact details below: 

- For enquiries about the project content, please contact: Duyen.Chu@bcu.ac.uk  

- For enquiries about the application procedure, please contact: research.admissions@bcu.ac.uk

Project: ​Responsible business in the hyper-connected age

Lead: Dr Duyen Chu

Project ID: 39532249 

Project Description:

​​The hyper-connected age with various connections between people and people, things and people, things and things using digital technologies has changed many aspects of businesses, thus, may change the way businesses act responsibly. This project aims to deepen understanding how the hyper-connected age has impacted responsible business and how businesses promote economic, social, and ecological advancements in this era. A mixed-method design will be applied to collect both primary data and secondary data. Candidates with good knowledge of research methodology, and relevant background and skills are welcome to apply to join the project. Candidates with background in digital transformation, sustainability, and responsible management are strongly encouraged to apply.  

Anticipated findings and contribution to knowledge:

The current scholarship on responsible business has merely examined responsible business aspects (e.g., responsible competitiveness, responsible business practices, impacts of responsible business behaviour) without considering facets of the hyper-connected era. Thus, this project attempts to extend understanding of how different aspects of the hyper-connected era have affected the ways businesses act responsibly by embracing the important scientific-technical, interpersonal-social, systemic-ecological dimensions and creating some optimal balance among them, which has been called for further research within responsible research in Business and Management, yet, has not been explored.  

The research findings will be used to improve best practices related to perceptions, actions and decision making within businesses in terms of how to act responsibly to contribute to the SDGs in a hyperconnected world which is characterized by networks of people, devices, and other entities that are continuously interacting and exchanging information. The findings of this research project will also be utilized to inform policy decisions in how to support businesses to develop a proper responsible business model in the age of hyperconnectivity.

Person Specification:

​​A mixed-method design will be applied to collect both primary data and secondary data. Candidates with strong knowledge of research methodology, and relevant background and skills are welcome to apply to join the project. Candidates with background in digital transformation, sustainability, and responsible management are strongly encouraged to apply.   

International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0.