“ISBE ECR SIG was pleased to support several early-career researchers with travel grants to attend ISBE 2025 in Glasgow. Below is an overview of how attending the event benefited their professional development.”
The ISBE Annual Conference is one of the most important spaces for connecting research, practice, and policy in entrepreneurship — three areas often mentioned together but rarely explored simultaneously.
Receiving the ISBE grant allowed me to achieve three key objectives for my professional development. First, to present my joint research with Professor Pablo Muñoz, Professor Jonathan Kimmitt, and Christopher Storey on how we can design more context-sensitive enterprise policies in rural areas using Design Science as an approach. Second, to meet other researchers who are exploring how policy and research can better inform practice. And third, to connect with scholars who have made significant contributions to entrepreneurship policy studies, such as Simon Bridge. These were genuine, human-scale conversations where I could listen first-hand to reflections on the tensions, myths, and challenges that still shape entrepreneurship policy.
As a former senior entrepreneurship policymaker in Chile and now in the final year of my PhD at Durham University Business School, where I study how to design more diverse and context-sensitive entrepreneurship policies, ISBE acts as a bridge between academic research and public policy. Attending the conference has undoubtedly been one of the most valuable experiences of the year, both for my professional growth and ongoing research.
Rodrigo Frias
PhD Researcher
Durham University Business School
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The ECR Forum Travel Grant greatly supported my early career development by enabling my participation in the ISBE 2025 Conference. Presenting my first academic paper to an international audience strengthened my confidence and improved my ability to communicate my research effectively. The feedback I received has directly informed the further development of my work and preparation for journal submission.
The conference also allowed me to expand my professional network by connecting with Early Career Researchers, senior academics, and practitioners. These interactions have opened opportunities for future collaboration and have helped integrate me more deeply into the international entrepreneurship research community.
Without the grant, attending the conference would not have been financially possible. The support allowed me to fully benefit from the sessions, discussions, and networking opportunities, making it a valuable and impactful contribution to my professional growth as an emerging scholar.
Alicia Reimer
Academic Employee
University of Freiburg
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As a final year PhD student at Northumbria University at Newcastle, this conference extremely exceeded my expectations from a well organised doctoral day with worldclass presenters to two full days of thought proactive leading edge research work presentations ISBE 2025 conference will always be part of my career story line.
With such a friendly and cordial atmosphere amongst the delegates and conference organisers ISBE is truly a family of friends, the connections I built will go a long way in enabling me to carry on to the future. The conference was hugely helpful in building my professional network and road testing my arguments as I prepare for a life as a scholar viva at the beginning of 2026.
I once again extend wish to extend my since gratitude to the ISBE ECR SIG for this generous grant that enabled me to meet the conference related costs and wish to encourage other ECR take it up in the future.
Geoffrey Bwireh
Doctoral Student
Northumbria University
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Receiving the ISBE ECR Travel Grant was genuinely transformational for my professional development. It enabled me to present research I’m passionate about on sustainable innovation in women-owned businesses, which I am developing in collaboration with Dr. Suzanne Hague, to an engaged audience of academics and practitioners who share a commitment to impact-driven entrepreneurship. This opportunity went far beyond funding my attendance. It amplified the visibility of my work, opened doors to new collaborations, and provided a platform to exchange ideas with leading scholars and practitioners. These conversations have already sparked potential joint projects and policy engagement opportunities, which I believe will strengthen the relevance and reach of my research.
Having first attended ISBE as a PhD student volunteer in 2019, returning as an academic and ECR grant recipient in 2025 was a full-circle moment. It reminded me how much ISBE values continuity and community, and how important these networks are for early career researchers navigating the transition from doctoral study to academic leadership.
The experience has also boosted my confidence to pursue ambitious research that bridges academia, policy, and practice. I left the conference with fresh insights, constructive feedback, and renewed motivation to publish and disseminate findings that can inform real-world change.
I am grateful for ISBE’s commitment to supporting early career researchers and proud to be part of such a vibrant, inclusive, and forward-thinking community. This grant has shaped my current work and will continue to influence my future trajectory as a scholar dedicated to creating impact through research.
Dr Gbemisola Ogbolu
Senior Lecturer in Business
Teesside University
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The ISBE Conference provided an invaluable platform for sharing research, engaging with leading scholars, and building meaningful collaborations in entrepreneurship studies. Receiving the ISBE ECR Travel Grant was a genuinely uplifting moment in my early research career. It gave me the chance to present two papers on ethnic businesses and ethnic women’s entrepreneurship—topics that truly inspire my work. What stood out most was not just being able to share my research but seeing how it resonated with others and sparked meaningful conversations throughout the conference.
The event also gave me space to grow professionally. I met Early Career Researchers, senior academics, and practitioners whose perspectives broadened my own. Many of these connections have already led to discussions about future collaborations and policy-related work, which is incredibly exciting.
Attending the conference renewed my confidence and ambition. The feedback I received, along with the supportive atmosphere, encouraged me to push my research further and think boldly about the impact it can have across academia, practice, and policy.
I am deeply thankful to ISBE for investing in early career researchers and for fostering such an open, welcoming community. This opportunity has shaped not only my current projects but also the direction I hope to take as a researcher committed to meaningful, real-world impact.
Dr Anju Maharjan
Lecturer in International Business
University of Greenwich