Binod Shrestha

Research student testimonial

Since I completed my bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics I have been involved in business development services, enterprise creation and development in rural parts of Nepal with different projects. Those first hand field experiences taught me the enormous problems faced by enterprises due to management failure. There was no learning cycle within management/owners and there was a lack of services for such enterprises in the market. In due course, I had the opportunity to do a master's degree with DAAD Scholarship in Germany in small business studies, which helped me to see the bigger picture of business services and its importance to small firms. Since then, I have had practical experiences of different business environments in the UK for nearly four years. During that time I became enthusiastic about understanding small businesses in a scholarly way, improving my research skills and participating in emergent discussions on the subject matter at the same time. I have always wanted to pursue an academic career, to conduct valuable research in my field, to disseminate that knowledge to others and to find solutions that can be applied in praxis. Therefore, I aim to complete my PhD and look forward to joining the academic profession and continuing to do social research in the field of Business and Management.

I have chosen to do my MRes (Master of Research) in Business and Management at The Open University, because I was familiar with the research objective of the institution. Since starting my MRes, I have come to know The Open University Business School and its ambitions to be a leading research institution. The diverse professionals, my respected and vibrant supervisors and friendly staff have encouraged me more to apply for a PhD and continue with the School for another three years. The Open University Business School is not only known for its distance learning programme, but also for its contribution to research community in the UK and around the world. Its contribution to intellectual cohesion and it's collaboration with other renown institutions have always attracted me to continue my PhD here.