The PhD Experience

In this edition of our newsletter, we feature Hugo Firmo, a PhD candidate at BI Norwegian Business School. With a background in both management and engineering, Hugo’s research focuses on the circular economy, business model innovation, and the construction sector. His work explores how these areas can contribute to more sustainable and economically viable practices, aiming to drive positive change in both industry and policy.

In this Q&A, Hugo reflects on his academic journey and shares some of the challenges and rewarding aspects of pursuing a PhD. He also offers some advice to aspiring PhD candidates, drawing on his own experience navigating the complexities of academic life. 

Q&A

How does the academic environment at BI Norwegian Business School support your research and career development? 

At BI, I encountered a fantastic group of top researchers who cover a wide range of fields, making it a very diverse and stimulating environment to be a part of. 

What has been the most rewarding aspect of your PhD journey so far? 

It's not a particular factor, but rather a combination of factors that have enabled my PhD to be a rewarding experience. First, being surrounded by eager, kind and collaborative people is a foundation for a good PhD journey. That, of course, comes in combination with being given great levels of autonomy and multiple opportunities to develop my education, research and teaching further. Finally, the location of BI is ideal for somebody who enjoys living in a city, while being just minutes away from nature. To me, this is another major factor that makes BI a good place to be. 

What has been the most unexpected part of your PhD journey so far, and how have you navigated the challenges along the way? 

A PhD is sometimes portrayed as a painfully lonely experience. While indeed we are the leaders of our own projects, I quickly found myself well integrated into a group of PhDs and other researchers who truly want to help. At BI, PhDs are treated as equals and that helps a lot in feeling a part of the research community. I have relied on the good advice of faculty and administration staff whenever help was needed. They have always shown a great willingness to help. That just makes every challenge easier to resolve. 

You have an academic background in both management and engineering. At BI, your research focuses on sustainable business models and the circular economy. How does your interdisciplinary background contribute to your research focus on these areas? 

My background in engineering has been of great importance in my research. My empirical setting is the construction sector. Speaking to other engineers and understanding their lingo has very much been facilitated by my degree in engineering. A broad background also means that I have met incredible people along the way who are specialists in their fields and can help me make sense of complex issues. Finally, being able to bring together different ways of thinking results in greater creativity and a greater ability to see problems from different perspectives. 

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing a PhD? 

I would recommend trying to get some prior experience as a research assistant, for example, and investing in writing a good master's thesis. I very much enjoyed writing my thesis which, while being a much smaller project than a PhD, can be a good indicator of whether you actually enjoy doing research. I think a PhD is particularly well suited for people who are curious about understanding how the world works. So, more than wanting to learn about what to do, a researcher wants to understand what is going on, why things are happening and is intrinsically motivated to pursue that question for several years - perhaps for an entire career.