My career revolves around the desire to understand and explore. I studied mechanical engineering to gain a deep understanding of how complex products in different industries come to be. Ranked 165 amongst more than 440,000 participants of National University Entrance Exam in the engineering group, I started a BSc in mechanical engineering at Sharif University in Tehran. Not only was it very well suited to my abilities but also I had the chance to explore other fields. I took a few management courses and I completed a three-month internship as an engineering project manager.
The complexity of the human element in industry fascinated me, and I decided to study management. Ranked 12 amongst more than 40,000 applicants, I started my MBA degree at Sharif University. The program has been designed to provide extensive practical knowledge while providing opportunities to engage in research. During this 2.5-years MBA programme, I engaged in many practical projects, such as an 8-month project on formulation and implementation of a new strategy for Institute of Nanotechnology at Sharif University, and also had the chance to take part in research and teaching activities, experiencing different career paths.
The research element of an academic career in the management field particularly motivated me to pursue a Ph.D. During my MBA, I confirmed this notion by engaging in a research project on corporate entrepreneurship as part of an elective Ph.D. seminar course. First, it helped me to obtain an understanding of research by experiencing some aspects of it; for example, the joy of intellectual growth, the frustration of challenging the unknown, and the rapture of creating a novel outcome. Second, I became acquainted with strategy research, the main area of my current Ph.D. And finally, I observed how my skills could be of value in academic research.
I started my Ph.D. in September 2014 at University College London. I chose to study how machine learning can influence firms through strategic decision for my dissertation. The first two years, I participated in many rigorous theoretical and methodological courses, both at UCL and London business School, to build robust foundations for my future research career. Furthermore, from early days of my PhD, I started mastering R, Python, and different database management languages, as necessary tools for studying my research questions.