Samadrita Bhattacharyya
The Best Publication Award 2020

My journey as a doctoral candidate at IIM Calcutta has been a truly fulfilling one. I feel blessed to be part of an institution where I had the opportunity to learn from the best of faculties in our country. I am indebted to my professors for the knowledge, guidance, and mentoring I received during this phase. I am thankful to Prof. Indranil Bose, my supervisor, for being a wonderful guide and encouraging me always to push my boundaries. The Ph.D. program at IIM Calcutta transforms a student to a research scholar through its rigorous academic curriculum, and an environment of excellence, freedom, and creativity.

IIM Calcutta fosters a culture of strong peer support system, healthy competition, but more importantly a culture of collaboration. And I was really fortunate to have my colleague Shankhadeep as a wonderful research partner and a supportive friend. Apart from our individual dissertations we had the opportunity to work on several research projects together that led to a number of publications in reputed journals such as the Journal of Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, and Information & Management. Our publication in the prestigious Journal of Management Information Systems (an FT 50 journal) received the Best Publication Award this year. It is the fruit of hundreds of hours of brainstorming, analysis, writing and re-writing, and of course the prudent guidance of Prof. Bose and Prof. AtreyiKankanhalli (Professor at National University Singapore).

The PhD program at IIM Calcutta has made me realize even more the importance of individual hard work and perseverance as well as an empowering ecosystem. Ph.D. is inherently an arduous journey, but thanks to my friends, professors, and institute’s administrative support, it became the most cherished phase of my life. IIM Calcutta not only provided a great academic environment, but also a lush green campus with beautiful lakes, countless moments of fun, some friends for life, and a memorable stay on campus. I hope to keep up the values I imbibed at IIM Calcutta for the rest of my life.