"I took the TBRP course very late in my PhD process (two months before handing in my thesis) and was thrilled to experience that it provided me with new perspectives and tools for my PhD even at this late stage. On top of that, engaging in the learning process of the course gave me new ideas for further research as I felt that some pieces finally came together with new inspiration. Excellent professors that made very abstract material hands on practical and useful. I would recommend it to all phd-students regardless of methodological background as theorizing should be a core skill to take with you from a phD degree."

Sofie Østergaard Jaspers, PhD candidate, The National Research Center for Work Environment, Denmark

"For a first year doctoral researcher, meandering around numerous articles, grasping knowledge from different sources, while finding own voice, the TBRP PhD course in Theory Building exceeded my expectations. As my research area is yet to mature, developing knowledge and skills in theorizing and theory building is crucial for me. At the beginning of the course, I had a great deal of confusion - (apparently) a natural state to be in as confirmed by the professors and fellow students. Employing an inductive mindset and approach was certainly the biggest challenge. But with time and workin on the course assignments, the 'muddy water became clearer'.This course broadened my horizon, developed my thinking patterns, and helped me approach the issues from different angles, while being deeply grounded in an objective reality. The methods and tools learnt in this course will definitely prove useful to my research."

Alexandra Elena Carst, PhD candidate, The Aalborg University Business School, Denmark

"Under the motto 'confusion is the royal path to knowledge', you will be exposed to the mysterious of theory building. The beauty of it, however, is that once you have mastered the course, the matter doesn’t appear so mysterious anymore. Make no mistake about it, 'you will have to walk, and create the way by your walking', but at least you will know in which direction to walk. In conclusion, I wish I would have taken the course earlier in my PhD."

Sascha Struwe, PhD candidate, The Aalborg University Business School, Denmark

"The TBRP course was one of the best PhD courses I have attended. It really encouraged me to use theory building in my future research. It also taught me how to develop theoretical sensitivity, stay open, making use of grounded theory tools and methods, among other things. I really enjoyed the discussion with professors and classmates, who brought it rich knowledge from different disciplines. Finally, although several of us could not go to Demark to participate in the course, it was really warm of the teachers to take care of us in Zoom. I highly recommend this course to PhD students."

Peipei Yang, PhD candidate, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

“I would highly recommend this course to every PhD candidate who is interested in theorizing and theory building. The five day course is very intense and requires your full attention, but I learned a lot about the relevance for theory building in business and management research. It also made me reflect on the importance of developing my own voice as a researcher and staying open for other research methods. The group exercises and discussions were really helpful for generating a better understanding of grounded theory. The professors provided a lot of critical and constructive feedback, so the learning curve of the participants was steep.”

Svenja Damberg, PhD candidate, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany

“The research process can be confusing – but fear not. Confusion is good! Celebrate!” This is one of the many notes I made during the course. It is printed and stuck on my noticeboard here in the office along with the “Trust in emergence” notice. ‘Emergence’ being one of the underlying ideas behind the course. My project is based on ethnographic data and presently I am confused! -  What have I been observing? How do I make sense of my data? Do I need more data? What type of data? How do I gather it? This course taught me to trust in the emergence - the patterns will become apparent. I am definitely going to be inspired by the grounded theory approach to theory building in order to “make sense” of my data. I am still confused but I am also more confident! Thanks a lot to the great and patient lecturers for the inspiring lecturers and helpful comments. Fantastic, that you succeeded in being so “present” in a mixed environment of online and physical presence - and this thanks goes to the rest of the team behind the course as well as the other participants in the course. I definitely recommend the course.”

Anne Klitgaard, PhD candidate, Danish Building Research Institute, Denmark

“The TBRP PhD Course is a unique course that is not offered anywhere else. The course elegantly helps you tie methodology, data analysis techniques and theorizing together in the research process. It is hosted by a group of very engaged professors with very different backgrounds and approaches to research which can inspire you to develop your dissertation and give a clearer sense of direction in your research work. I highly recommend it.”

Tina Larsen, PhD candidate, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

"To attend the TBRP PhD course on 'The Process of Theorizing and Theory Building in Management Research' was a great milestone in my doctoral research journey. The inspirations on the “Digging, Mining, Refining, Polishing, and Relating” shook to the foundation the idea of my research only to ground it in stronger and organized perspective. The inspiration of discovering own voice in my research built another level of intellectual autonomy thirst. The shared experience and exposure to different types of research perspectives and literature survey styles have given me a different perspective about my research and what I am really supposed to do. Although attended relatively late in my research journey, but as they say: better late than never."

Eziacka Mathew Mpelangwa, PhD candidate, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

"At the end of my first year in my doctoral studies, I visited Aalborg University for a three-month research stay, which gave me the opportunity to attend in-person the TBRP PhD course. I feel very fortunate for being able to take part in the course and meet other doctoral researchers who are researching in different areas and using diverse methodologies. I found the course interesting and useful, not without a pinch of confusion. The various assignments enabled us to clarify and deeply understand some relevant concepts in the theory-building process, teaching us how to start listening to our own voice. Team working was an enriching experience since it allowed us to have different perspectives on same issues, facilitating discussion and learning. The lecturers, Romeo Turcan, Andy Lowe, Nikhilesh Dholakia, and David Doje, presented complementary views of the topic and guided us through the assignments, giving valuable feedback. It was an intensive week with a combination of lectures, assignments, discussions, and group presentations, and it was worth it!"

Noelia Garcia-Buendia, PhD candidate, University of Jaén, Spain