Philip Watland
PhD Management Learning, 2007
Employer: Olds College, Alberta, Canada
I began my part-time doctoral studies at Lancaster University whilst working in Canada. My interest in Management Learning began from taking an online executive MBA programme. When I graduated from the programme, I was interested in how this technology-supported programme was designed and delivered to managers.
At the same time, I was also looking for a career change and for interesting areas in which to invest my time, particularly academic fields. In the course of my investigations into a number of alternatives, I realised that technology-supported educational approaches were becoming more pervasive, particularly with the increasing popularity of the Internet. It appeared that this might provide me with an opportunity for a career in a growing sector of education and additionally would allow me to pursue my academic interests. This led me to Lancaster University Management School, the Department of Management Learning and Leadership, and the research of Professor Vivien Hodgson into Networked Management Learning.
I also had the opportunity to work at Lancaster University Management School in the Department of Management Learning and Leadership during my part-time doctoral studies, and this was a very rewarding and intellectually stimulating experience, an experience that I would recommend to anyone interested in pursuing a higher education degree. During my doctoral studies, the support and friendship of Professor Hodgson, all the DMLL staff, and my fellow PhD students was instrumental in enriching my experience and my research.
After obtaining my PhD I worked as Senior Researcher for The Centre of Distance Education Research at Athabasca University in Canada and have since taken an Instructor, Learning Technology position at Olds College in Alberta, Canada.
