There were two reasons Pamela Robinson decided to pursue her doctorate degree at Weatherhead School of Management. One was to honor her grandparents, who were from Akron, Ohio, and the other was the inspiration she received after reading, Managing as Designing, written by Case Western Reserve University’s Richard Boland, professor of design and innovation, and Fred Collopy, professor emeritus.
On Friday, Feb. 25, Robinson, a PhD student in management, designing sustainable systems, competed in the finale of the inaugural 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition at Case Western Reserve University in the Tinkham Veale University Center.
The competition challenged students to explain their research and its importance in a way a general audience would understand in just three minutes with the aid of one slide. Robinson competed against 22 other graduate students and was the only student representing Weatherhead School.
“The 3MT has been an exciting and thought-provoking experience,” Robinson said. “To be showcasing my research in the competition feels shocking, affirming and fun.”
Robinson has been working on her research, "An Inescapable Pathway Towards Agribusiness Management 2050,” over the last three years with the aid of Boland and David Cooperrider, professor of organizational behavior. Her research studies how local ecological knowledge informs policy, particularly in developing countries.
“Five-hundred million small farms produce up to 80% of food consumed in developing countries. However, for the past 30 years the perspective of ‘more production’ for economic and political gain has been the dominant conversation,” Robinson stated in her presentation. “This traditional perspective is inefficient for a dynamic value chain and for the doubling of population globally.”
Robinson’s studies were informed through interviews with people in rural communities around the world. And through looking at quantitative-text analysis to observe the dialogue of the United Nations’s food system between farmers and indigenous people. This analysis views the patterns of the relationships and the changes of the dialogue from negative to a positive dialogue that can be used.
“We applaud Pamela's passion and commitment to such a worthy research topic and her energy and creativity as she finds ways to disseminate research that matters,” said Kalle Lyytinen, department chair of design and innovation. “We highly value relevant and rigorous research that matters and Pamela’s research shows this at its best.”
Robinson was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and spent most of her life in Europe. Her first touchpoint to the U.S. was visiting her grandparents. She is now a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, and travels regularly to attend her classes.
Upon graduation, Robinson wants to shape the future of agribusiness management and become a global thought leader in her field. A mantra that Robinson says keeps her motivated to achieve her goal is the Case Western Reserve tagline, “Think Beyond the Possible.”
Article Date
February 25, 2022
