Griffith College’s Graduate Business School has recorded a historic first: two of its Master’s graduates, Leslie Valdez and Joshua Onunwor, became the first postgraduate students from the School to present their research at the Irish Academy of Management (IAM) Conference. The achievement marks an important moment not only for the two researchers involved, but for the growing profile of applied postgraduate research within Ireland’s business education sector.
The 30th IAM Conference, hosted at the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick from 24 to 26 August 2026, brought together academics, researchers, and industry practitioners from across Ireland and beyond. Against that backdrop, Leslie and Joshua presented papers co-authored with their academic supervisor, Amogha Sudarshan. Each paper grew out of a Dissertation-by-Practice project completed in collaboration with industry partners Kube Interiors and DigiFood NPD respectively.
For prospective postgraduate students weighing up where to study, the story offers a clear illustration of what a research-active business school looks like in practice. Explore Griffith College’s postgraduate programmes to see how applied, industry-relevant research is built into the learning experience.
A Landmark Achievement for the Graduate Business School in Ireland
Academic conferences can appear, from the outside, to be the preserve of professors, doctoral candidates, and established researchers. Master’s students rarely stand in front of that audience to present original work, which is what makes this occasion genuinely historic for Griffith College. Presenting at the Irish Academy of Management, the country’s leading forum for management research, signals that the Graduate Business School’s postgraduate output stands up to scrutiny alongside work from Ireland’s universities.
The milestone also reflects a deliberate strategy. Rather than treating the dissertation as a box-ticking exercise at the end of a Master’s degree, the School has embedded experiential, industry-connected research into its postgraduate programmes from the outset. Leslie and Joshua’s conference presentations are the visible result of that approach, demonstrating that rigorously produced Master’s-level research can contribute meaningfully to national conversations about marketing, technology adoption, and supply chain management.
Meet the Postgraduate Researchers and Their Projects
Both papers presented at the IAM Conference addressed practical business questions, and both were grounded in collaboration with real Irish companies. That combination of academic method and commercial relevance is central to how the Graduate Business School frames its research culture.
Leslie Valdez: Consumer Insight for Kube Interiors
Leslie Valdez, who completed the MSc in Global Brand Management, presented a three-panel Delphi study exploring the psychological, social, and financial drivers and barriers that influence Irish homeowners’ adoption of kitchen solutions. The Delphi method, which structures input from expert panels over successive rounds, allowed Leslie to draw on perspectives from consumers, Kube Interiors staff, and competitors.
The outcome was a set of strategic recommendations designed to improve Kube’s marketing approach, pricing transparency, and customer engagement. Rather than an abstract academic exercise, the project delivered findings a real business could act on, an example of how postgraduate study can produce immediate commercial value.
Joshua Onunwor: IoT Food Traceability for Irish Agri-Food SMEs
Joshua Onunwor, a graduate of the MSc in International Business Management, examined IoT-enabled food traceability for Irish agri-food SMEs. His research compared implementation challenges faced by smaller Irish firms with international experiences, including valuable insights drawn from New Zealand’s agri-food sector.
Food traceability has become a pressing issue for producers, regulators, and consumers alike, and Joshua’s paper offered practical recommendations for stakeholders across the supply chain. By connecting an Irish business context with global benchmarks, the research exemplifies the international perspective that an MSc in International Business Management is designed to develop.
What the Dissertation-by-Practice Involves
Central to both projects is the Dissertation-by-Practice, an innovative academic pathway that allows students to address real-world industry challenges through applied research. Instead of studying a theoretical question in isolation, students work with a company or organisation, identify a genuine problem, and apply academic rigour to solve it.
The benefits of this model are considerable:
- Practical relevance: Students graduate with research that addresses live business issues rather than hypothetical scenarios.
- Professional networks: Working directly with industry collaborators builds relationships that often extend beyond the dissertation itself.
- Portfolio value: Conference-ready papers and employer-facing recommendations give graduates concrete evidence of their capabilities.
- Research skills: Students learn methodologies, such as the Delphi technique or comparative case analysis, that are transferable to doctoral study or evidence-driven business roles.
This year’s presentations showcased exactly that: high-impact insights developed in partnership with industry collaborators, and judged strong enough to be shared with Ireland’s wider management research community. If you want to see how this pathway could fit your own career plans, download the Griffith College prospectus for detailed programme information.
Why Presenting at the Irish Academy of Management Matters
The Irish Academy of Management Conference is the premier annual gathering for management scholars in Ireland. Presenting there exposes early-career researchers to feedback from senior academics, introduces them to current debates in the field, and builds confidence in defending their work in public.
For Leslie and Joshua, the experience reshaped their understanding of who belongs in academic spaces. Leslie shared: “I arrived at the conference incredibly nervous. As a Master’s graduate, I genuinely wasn’t sure whether I would fit into an environment surrounded by professors, PhD candidates and experienced researchers. What initially felt quite intimidating became a very welcoming and inspiring experience. It gave me more confidence in seeing that there is space for early-career researchers and Master’s graduates to contribute to those conversations.”
Joshua described a similar shift in perception: “Although having just a Master’s Degree, I often found myself having seamless conversations with PhD holders and candidates including business heads of faculties about varieties of topics which was really encouraging and deconstructed my archaic notion of academic conferences and settings. Thank you, Amogha, for facilitating this opportunity and pushing me to explore the many possibilities that research and academia has.”
Their accounts carry a practical message for anyone considering postgraduate study in Ireland: the line between Master’s-level and doctoral-level research is more porous than many prospective students assume. With the right supervision and a strong project, Master’s graduates can contribute to scholarly conversations from day one.
The Role of Mentorship in Postgraduate Research Success
Behind both conference papers stands a support structure worth noting. Academic supervisor Amogha Sudarshan guided both students as they translated complex business challenges into credible, actionable research, co-authoring the papers and preparing them for presentation at a national conference.
Institutional leadership also played a part. Aine McManus, Head of Faculty, and Jonathan Creasy, Dissertation Coordinator, provided the direction and support that allowed these projects to reach the conference stage. For prospective students, this highlights a key criterion when comparing programmes: the quality and accessibility of supervision often determines whether a dissertation remains a folder on a laptop or becomes a published, presented piece of work.
When evaluating business schools in Ireland, ask direct questions about supervision. How often will you meet your supervisor? Does the school have links with industry partners? Do postgraduate students have opportunities to present or publish? The answers will tell you a great deal about what your own research experience could look like.
Practical Lessons for Future Postgraduate Students
The Griffith College experience at the 30th IAM Conference offers several takeaways for anyone considering a Master’s degree in business:
- Choose applied topics. Research connected to a real organisation produces findings that matter to employers and to the academic community.
- Engage fully with supervision. Regular, honest dialogue with a supervisor raises the standard of the final output considerably.
- Treat your dissertation as a portfolio piece. A well-executed project can become a conference paper, a job interview talking point, or the foundation for doctoral study.
- Say yes to opportunities. Neither Leslie nor Joshua expected to present at a national conference during their Master’s year; both accepted the opportunity when it arose and grew as a result.
- Don’t self-select out. As both speakers discovered, conference environments are more welcoming to early-career researchers than many students expect.
If these points resonate with your own plans, contact the Griffith College admissions team to discuss which postgraduate pathway aligns best with your academic background and career goals.
A Strong Foundation for Careers and Further Research
The implications of this milestone extend beyond a single conference. For graduates, a national conference presentation strengthens CVs, supports applications for PhD programmes, and provides evidence of communication and analytical skills that employers actively seek. For Griffith College, it confirms the Graduate Business School’s commitment to making research accessible and impactful from the start of the postgraduate experience.
It also strengthens Ireland’s broader research ecosystem. When Master’s students from different institutions contribute to conferences like the IAM’s, the national conversation about management practice becomes richer, and the pathway from taught Master’s degrees into doctoral research becomes clearer for the next cohort.
Applications for postgraduate programmes fill quickly ahead of each academic year, so early planning pays off. Submit your application to Griffith College today to secure your place on a programme where research, industry collaboration, and career development go hand in hand.
Celebrating the Achievement and Looking Ahead
Congratulations are due to Leslie Valdez and Joshua Onunwor for their outstanding contributions and for representing Griffith College at Ireland’s premier management research conference. Their work demonstrates what postgraduate students can accomplish when rigorous academics meets genuine industry engagement.
For prospective students, their story is an invitation. A Master’s degree can be far more than a qualification; it can be the point at which your ideas enter the national conversation. Have questions about the Graduate Business School or the Dissertation-by-Practice pathway? Write to the admissions team or share your thoughts in the comments below, and take the first step towards research that makes a real difference.
