The Accounting & Finance team successfully held its inaugural A&F HDR Connect on 2 October, bringing together HDR students and staff for a morning of research insights, career advice, networking and fun.

A big thank you to Ummara Fatima, Kwadjo Appiagyei and Dr Tanvir Bhuiyan, the working group behind the event, and to all staff and HDR students who contributed to and participated in the event, helping make it such a success. We also greatly appreciate Dean Prof Antonia Girardi’s support for initiatives like this.

The HDR presentations were a highlight. Ummara shared valuable insights, particularly through her demonstration of Prodigy for contextual classification. The session sparked strong interest, with attendees requesting a follow-up workshop, which we are now planning. Mohammed Shakib also delivered an intriguing presentation on measuring the ESG credibility gap through walk and talk.

The Spotlight Session with Prof Domenic Gasbarro and A/Prof Nuttawuth Muenjohn offered meaningful advice and inspiration for our HDR students. Dom drew a memorable parallel between research and the power of compounding in finance: start small, but keep going! Wuth highlighted the importance of having a personal plan and setting aside dedicated days to prioritise research.

Of course, it wasn't all serious research talk! The trivia quiz brought some extra energy to the morning, with Hossain Ali and Madan Gurung taking home the “Research Champ” cup prizes.

Overall, A&F HDR Connect was a wonderful opportunity to share ideas, learn from one another and strengthen our research community. We look forward to building on this momentum and creating more opportunities for our HDR students and staff to connect, learn, share and grow.