My name is Michaela Hruskova and I am a PhD researcher in Management in the triple-accredited Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow. Through my various professional and extra-curricular experiences I have developed a passion for entrepreneurship which has led me to pursue this topic in my doctoral thesis, which explores the topic of governance of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Alongside my studies, I also work as the Intern Team Coordinator & Lead Tutor for the Graduate Skills Programme in the College of Social Sciences and Director of an award-winning entrepreneurial community Startup Grind University of Glasgow.
I have a very keen interest in entrepreneurship which I developed over the past few years through extensive professional experience in both the public and private sectors. Due to my involvement in these diverse entrepreneurship support organisations and my work with Startup Grind, I consider myself to be an entrepreneurship supporter who thrives on helping entrepreneurs start, build and grow their businesses. As a result of my work experiences to date, I have developed a wide range of transferable soft skills and demonstrated my leadership and ability to build productive relationships as well as ability to work both independently and in teams.
This ePortfolio was developed as part of the Graduate Skills Programme and not only does it showcase the diverse range of my academic, extra-curricular, work experiences, and the key skills which I developed, but it also reflects on and highlights three key instances in which I supported entrepreneurship in Scotland and thus had an impact on the development of my local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Professional Summary My doctoral studies are funded by a highly competitive scholarship from the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The ESRC scholarship is a recognition of my excellent academic track record as evidenced by an undergraduate Master of Arts degree with First Class Honours in Business & Management and a postgraduate Master of Research in Management with Distinction, both of which were awarded by the University of Glasgow. My undergraduate degree was an excellent introduction to the diverse business functions whilst also allowing me to specialise in entrepreneurship. In my dissertation, I studied the role of gender in business angels' evaluation of investment opportunities and my research was awarded one of the highest marks, an A3. On the other hand, my postgraduate taught degree equipped me with a strong foundation in research design within the discipline of management and was an excellent stepping stone for my PhD. My master's dissertation investigated the landscape of entrepreneurship support organisations in Glasgow and received the highest mark, an A1. My current PhD research explores the notion of governance of entrepreneurial ecosystems and is a natural progression of my evolving research interests. In March 2019, I participated in the 3 Minute Thesis competition where I was tasked with presenting my research topic to a non-specialist audience, and I won the People's Choice Award in the university-wide finals. Overall, throughout my academic studies, I have learned to investigate complex issues, think critically, develop arguments, and study independently.
Following my involvement in extra-curricular activities, such as leading a youth empowerment project for Enactus, I learned that I thrive on challenge and enjoy applying entrepreneurial concepts to solve problems. This then led me to participate in the inaugural Product Forge hackathon in Edinburgh. Having successfully pitched my business idea to other attendees, I built a team with whom I worked the business model, design, and prototype of my idea; after more than 48 hours of intense work I then pitched the final product to a judging panel and my team and I were declared overall winners. In September 2018, I launched a brand-new entrepreneurial community Startup Grind University of Glasgow, which was UK's first university format chapter under the Startup Grind banner. As the Director, I organise monthly events with accomplished entrepreneurs in order to educate, inspire, and connect like-minded students and staff. In our first year alone, we had over 300 attendees at our 6 events and inspired other Startup Grind chapters to be launched at other universities globally. As a result of my leadership and ability to build a vibrant startup community, I won the Rookie Director of the Year Award at the Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley in February 2019.
Throughout my studies, I have proactively sought out new opportunities to develop my professional skills and improve my employability. As a result, I have accumulated significant work experience in a short period of time which has allowed me to start progressing to more senior roles over time. At the early stages of my studies, I undertook high-impact entrepreneurship-focused internships at Scottish Enterprise/Scottish Development International, and the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE), where I won the SIE Intern of the Year Award and was promoted into a more senior role. This then culminated in my being selected as a 2015 Saltire Scholar by the Saltire Foundation through which I was placed in 4J Studios/Tayforth Consulting in Dundee. Most recently, I worked in a small team at Entrepreneurial Scotland to deliver a prestigious executive education programme - the Saltire Fellowship - which is a six month leadership and entrepreneurship development programme for future leaders of Scotland. This was a tremendous opportunity which massively improved my organisational, time management, and customer care skills and gave me the opportunity to study leadership and entrepreneurship at Babson College for two weeks as well as to visit some of the most successful start-up companies in Silicon Valley. Currently, I work as the College of Social Sciences Employability Intern Team Coordinator & Graduate Skills Programme Lead Tutor at the University of Glasgow. In this role, I develop, coordinate and deliver the Graduate Skills Programme which involves planning key deliverables, promoting our activities to prospective participants, and facilitating workshops. I also supervise and collaborate with my team, coordinate activities of the wider Employability Team, and liaison with the Employability Officer, with whom I set team objectives and plan our strategy. Overall, this is a very dynamic role, but I am entrusted with significant autonomy to deliver tasks and I am also empowered to pursue new ideas which has had a great impact on my confidence as well as my professional development. Finally, I have undertaken the role of a facilitator under the Researcher Development Programme at the University of Glasgow where I design and deliver peer-led skills development workshops for PhD researchers to help them better navigate the world of academia.
At the moment, I am taking full advantage of my studies to explore potential career avenues. I am currently undecided about whether I wish to start my own business, do some freelance work as a trainer/facilitator, pursue an academic career, or use my expertise in entrepreneurial ecosystems to offer consulting services to regional development agencies or governments. Having reflected on my work preferences, it is clear that I thrive on challenging projects and enjoy juggling multiple, diverse activities at the same time. I am therefore tempted to explore the option of a dual career which would allow me to pursue two different career paths simultaneously. For the time being, however, I am keeping my options open and I continue to get more insight into each area of work in order to be able to make an informed decision in the near future.