Pune: FLAME University, the pioneer of liberal education in India, launched the International Research Seminar Series on the 28th of July 2021, a 6-month long speaker series from July to December 201 in the area of Communications Management by the FLAME School of Communication. Prof. Preetha Menon who is leading this series and is the Head of Department of Media & Journalism at FLAME University says, “Aimed at providing access and opportunities to collaborate with top scholars and practitioners in the field, this seminar series is widely based on three themes which include Methods in Communication Studies, Contemporary Issues in Communication Studies and Industry-led Research in Communication Studies.” The seminar series aims to help guide future researchers for their betterment in various aspects in the field of research.
Dr. Dishan Kamdar, Vice-Chancellor of FLAME University, kick-started the session by observing that a cross-section of practice and academia can leave us with many research ideas to ponder, he further added, “Research that contributes to business, government, and society should be the goal. Research remains at the epicentre of what we do at FLAME University. We believe educating is about creating new knowledge, not just disseminating existing theory.”
The inaugural session on ‘Developing and Impactful Research: Ideas and Strategies’ featured speakers like Raj Sethuraman, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Retailing, and Professor Harold Simmons, Chair in Marketing, Cox School of Business – Southern Methodist University, USA, Justin Paul, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Consumer Studies, and Professor, Universidad de Puerto Rico, San Juan, USA, and Vivek Balaraman, Chief Scientist & Head, Behavioural, Business, and Social Science Research, TCS Research, Tata Consultancy Services, India.
Prof. Raj Sethuraman, noted the significant overlap between communication, marketing, and retailing and stated that all of them are about value creation and delivery. He also mentioned that “Writing rigorous, robust, relevant, and reader-friendly analysis is needed if academic research is to be relevant to the real world.”
Prof. Justin Paul, discussed a typology of review papers with detailed instructions for more citations and impact, making the research more accessible. He mentioned, “A review article is a survey of previously published research on a topic. Its main purpose is to provide direction for future research.”
Vivek Balaraman, spoke on Computational Behaviour Science & Applied Research, and said, “Insight is good, change is better. Many of the real-world behavioural problems mandate massive use of technology.”
The following session on ‘Impactful Experimental Research’ included Prof. Rajat Roy, Associate Professor, Bond Business School, Bond University, Australia, who shared his insights on experimental design, various types of experimental designs, intricacies of correlation and causation, validity, control, data analysis, and ethical treatment of subjects. Prof. Rajat Roy, also spoke about differences between market research done by research firms and academic research, and said, “Marketing research firms do hands-on research while academic research is more rigorous. It does literature review in detail and is grounded in academic theory.”
The FLAME School of Communication will host their International Research Seminar Series for 6 months, right up till December 2021. Each session in the series is held for a duration of 90-120 minutes, including a Q&A session as well. Cumulatively about 12-15 speakers will deliver interactive talk sessions in the entire series, averaging at 2 -3 speakers a month. Some of the upcoming sessions in August 2021 include talks on ‘Impactful Qualitative Research’ by Prof. Russel Belk, Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University, on 12th August and ‘Technology and Consumer Behaviour’ by Prof. Stefano Puntoni, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands, on 27th August, and much more.
The International Research Seminar Series is open to all students, academicians and practitioners who may wish to attend these enlightening sessions. Stay tuned to FLAME’s social media channels for registration details.
