A graduate of Strathclyde Business School has received a prestigious international award for the quality of his enterprise research.
Sergio Costa, who gained his PhD from Strathclyde in 2014, has been named the winner of the Heizer Doctoral Dissertation Award, made by the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management, a worldwide professional association for scholars of management and organisation.
The award is made “to recognise and honour outstanding doctoral research in the area of new enterprise development”. It was presented to Sergio for his dissertation, written while he was at Strathclyde, entitled Business Model Change in Early-Stage University Spin-offs.
Sergio received his prize of $1500 and a plaque at a ceremony in Vancouver.
Sergio, who was born in Barcelos, Portugal and currently lives in Porto, Portugal, said, “It’s fantastic to receive this award from one of the most prestigious and recognised management organisation in the world.
“I was attracted to Strathclyde by the initial discussions I had with my main supervisor, Professor Jonathan Levie, of the University’s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, by the excellent reputation of the University’s Business School and strong showings such as the Financial Times Business Education rankings. Also, I was excited to explore the vibrant city of Glasgow, and the beauty of Scotland.
“I received a great deal of help and support from Professor Levie. He was my initial point of contact with Strathclyde. Since the very beginning, he provided me with prompt feedback and was able to answer my questions – he was also very supportive while I was writing my PhD.
“There’s great quality in the research at the Hunter Centre and studying there opened many doors for me. I made good connections overseas from there and had the opportunity to make presentations at other universities, while meeting many interesting entrepreneurship scholars with whom I exchanged ideas.”
While at Strathclyde, Sergio also worked as a Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant and Tutor. He is currently working as a researcher at INESC TEC (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Tecnologia e Ciência) in Porto, and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Porto. He also holds a Visiting Researcher post at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
Sergio will return to the UK to join the University of Bath in September, as a Lecturer at the School of Management, while continuing his collaboration with INESC TEC.
Sergio previously studied at the University of Porto, gaining a degree in Electrical Engineering, an MBA and a Masters in Strategic Management. Before coming to Strathclyde, he worked as a strategy consultant at Porto Business School, as a sales engineer at Siemens Healthcare, and as a planning & production engineer at Infineon Technologies.