The Go Abroad fund allowed me to attend the Medici Summer School in Management Studies for doctoral students and young researchers which was held in Bologna, Italy from June 11-15^th, 2018. The program is organized and sponsored by Bologna Business School (University of Bologna), HEC Paris (Society and Organizations Research Center and the HEC Foundation), and MIT Sloan School of Management (Economic Sociology PhD Program). The aim of the Summer School is to promote doctoral education and research in organization theory and related fields as well as contribute to the development of practice in the management of business organizations. The program combined lectures and research seminars by leading international scholars. Every day ended with the presentation of students’ research, with a panel of senior faculty providing feedback.

I decided to attend the Medici Summer School as it gave me the unique opportunity to spend a whole week abroad with leading international scholars of my field as well as network with students from all over the whole from my area. I had a phantastic time in Italy and we were not only able to learn a lot about latest research in our field but also to experience the local culture and food. As part of the program, we had a tour in the old town of Bologna and learned a lot about local traditions. In addition to that, we visited FICO, the world’s biggest agri-food park.

Since I had been travelling to Italy before on vacation, I was not really worried about anything in terms of the country. The only thing I was a bit concerned about was whether I would be on the same level of expertise compared to the other student participants since most of them came from leading universities in the US. But it all turned out OK. During the week in Bologna, I not only learned a lot about the latest research in the field of management studies but I also learned a lot about the differences between the US and UK academic systems and approaches. I also had the chance to improve my presentation skills and learn more about the cultures of my fellow students. Very important from a personal standpoint for me was that I was able to make many new friends from all over the world.