Encouraging adoption of new technology with help from $120k fellowship

A student pursuing his Doctor of Business Administration at Royal Roads University is receiving a little help with his education — actually, a lot of help.

Nkem Onyegbula was recently awarded a multi-year fellowship worth $120,000 from Mitacs, a Canadian non-profit that works with 70 universities and both provincial and federal governments to deliver research and training programs.

Onyegbula, a second-year DBA student, is also a consultant focusing on change management, project management and business strategy services and a principal with CYNKON Inc. Last fall he was appointed to the Real Estate Council of Alberta.

He is studying how behavioral economics work with the eight steps of change to encourage employees to adopt new technology.

“I was elated,” he says of hearing the news that he’d been awarded the fellowship. “I told my wife, kids and supervisor right away. It was indeed a fulfilling and exciting feeling. The Mitacs Accelerate fellowship will provide me the opportunity to leverage data collected to incorporate into my research,” says Onyegbula.

He credits his time studying at Royal Roads for shaping his research approach, noting the importance of two intensive residencies, guidance from faculty, coursework and interaction with other members of his program, who were all established professionals.

He learned about the Mitacs Accelerate fellowship during his first-year residency and applied with the encouragement of his research supervisor, Dr. Ash Prasad.

Onyegbula says it will help his research as he balances his studies while maintaining his career.

“The courses I took at RRU have provided me with the relevant skills needed for my research work,” Onyegbula says.

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Royal Roads University is hosting a virtual conference, Socially Engaged Applied Doctoral Research in Canada: Approaches to Contemporary Social and Management Opportunities and Challenges, Aug. 20 to 22, 2021. The deadline for submissions of doctoral student papers and for extended abstracts from supervisors is April 18, 2021. Click here for details on the call for submissions.