Dr. Mary Theresa Holden
Lecturer in Marketing

Lecturer in Marketing & Quantitative Techniques

Waterford Institute of Technology

Academic & Professional Qualifications

• PhD, Waterford Institute of Technology (HETAC), awarded October 2006 (worthy of note: examiners awarded PhD with the ‘no change’ stipulation); methodology was a quantitative approach, utilising Structural Equation Modelling.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Statistics (Distinction), Trinity College Dublin, awarded October 2003.
  Masters of Business Studies by Research (Honours), Waterford Institute of Technology (HETAC), awarded October 2001; mixed-mode methodology utilised.
• Bachelor of Science in Administration (Distinction), University of Michigan, Majors: Marketing and Finance, awarded October 1991.
• Former Government of Ireland Scholar

Key Academic Responsibilities

• 2014-2015 Marketing Subject Group Co-ordinator: key responsibility was staff liaison for school review subject group modules. Role involved: setting up Moodle site as a marketing staff information area, preparing recorded tutorials on new online module catalogue usage, and the organising/distribution/compiling of marketing modules.
• 2012-2013 Member of Graduate Programmes Structure Working Group, under the auspices of the Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Committee of the Academic Council; key task: prepared initial structured PhD framework for Institute discussion.
• 2011-2012: Part-time position in WIT as Curriculum Developer: Generic Skills Training for Postgraduates. Key responsibility was the development of a suite of modules, focusing on generic skill development, for WIT’s future, structured PhD programme. Two further outcomes concerned the writing of a module catalogue for generic skills training as well as crafting a draft framework for the Institute’s structured PhD programme.
• 2009-2010 SIF Cycle II, School of Business Representative; key responsibility was the promotion of problem-based learning as a teaching and learning approach to business faculty.
• 2008-2009 Module Development Leader, Senior Lecturer, SIF Cycle II, Knowledge Transfer in Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum – institute-wide role involves changed to curriculum to enhance student learning with a particular emphasis in generic skill transfer and increasing the links between academia and practice.

Lectured on a range of undergraduate, marketing courses involving:

• BSc in Small Enterprise Management
• Bachelor of Business Studies, Marketing Stream
• BA in Marketing
• BA in Tourism Marketing
• BA in Languages and Marketing
• Supervisor of numerous undergraduate dissertations, which utilised both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Lectured on taught Masters/DBA programme in marketing and quantitative techniques:

• Masters of Business Studies in Internationalisation
• Masters of Business Studies
• Masters in Business Administration, International Business
• Doctorate in Business Administration

Supervision of numerous post-graduate dissertations, which utilised both qualitative and quantitative methodologies:

• Masters in Business Studies
• Executive Masters in Business Administration
• Masters in Business Administration, International Business
• Masters in Business Studies by Research
• PhD
• Supervision of action research projects for MBS in the Management of Change

Course Development/Workshops:

• Waterford Business School Writing Lab for DBA Programme, established 2014-2015: one of the major contributors
• Quantitative Techniques: mentoring support provided to School of Business faculty completing their PhD.
• Faculty workshop re Introduction to SPSS and Quantitative Techniques, Spring 2012.
• Academic writing workshops delivered to mature learners/BSc in Small Enterprise Management, Fall 2011.
• As part of the Institute’s postgraduate generic skills programme, developed and delivered workshops on: (1) Academic Writing (Fall 2011 – 2014), (2) Writing the Dissertation, (Spring 2011 – 2015), and (3) Skills Audit (Spring 2013/14/15).
• Series of workshops on recognition of prior learning (RPL) delivered to BSc learners, Spring 2011.
• Workshop on PBL delivered to new BSc course board 2010.
• Teamwork workshop delivered to Taught Masters Students 2009 – 2012.
• Course development board for BSc in Small Enterprise Management.
• Author of Tri-semester Framework for School of Business pilot scheme; one of the two modules was designed to specifically enhance the generic skills of 4th year marketing students.
• Presentations made on criticality of embedding generic skills in curricula to Academic Council Sub-committee (Support for Learning, Teaching & Research), WIT Teaching & Learning Forum, TUI Officials, School of Business Faculty.
• Organised several workshops for academic staff on problem-based learning, academic writing, peer tutoring, and teamwork/leadership skill transfer.
• Made major contributions to ethos, teaching approach, and module development of new Fáilte Ireland Bachelor of Science in Small Enterprise Management
• Made major contributions to course/module development of DBA.
• Made major contributions to course/module development for many programmes at undergraduate and Masters’ level. Of note: involved marketing research students in practice-based research projects with participants of SEBIC and SEEPP, as well as Waterford City Development Board and Youghal tourism entrepreneurs – emphasis on knowledge transfer, application of research theory to ‘real world’ research projects.
• Module development for 2007 practitioner-based Meteor programme – emphasis on knowledge transfer – application of theory to practice.
• Workshops completed with School of Business’ south-east enterprise platform programme (SEEPP) participants on customer relationship management and marketing research

Other Activities

• Active researcher – business research interests:frictionless knowledge transfer in business-to-business networks and governance of inter-firm relationships with a particular focus on the role of inter-personal relationships and communication.
• 2012:Guest lecturer – delivered a credited, block module on research methods for the BSc in International Business programme at ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, Germany.
• 2009 – CELT Conference, NUIG, Workshop Chair on Generic Skill Transfer.
• 2009 – Business-to-Business Session Chair, American Marketing Association’s Summer Educator’s Conference (Chicago).
• Founder member of RIKON (research in: innovation, knowledge, and organisational networks) Group; cluster currently has eleven full-time postgraduates (four of whom are PhD Candidates), two full-time research investigators, two part-time research assistants, and a full-time administrator. Members have been very successful in obtaining postgraduate funding through TSR Strand Is, Fáilte Ireland scholarships, and IRCHSS scholarship.
• Also, member of RIKON’s Project Crystalis which, through Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Voucher Scheme, assists south-east firms to become more innovative – the project group has been awarded over €260,000 in Innovation Vouchers.
• Blind reviewer for: European Journal of Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland: Concepts, Issues and Challenges (book), American Marketing Association’s Winter and Summer Educator’s Conferences, European Academy of Marketing Conference, Academy of Marketing Science World Congress Conference, and Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference

Committees:

• Member of Graduate Programmes Structure Working Group Member of Learning, Teaching & Assessment Strategy Forum, WIT, 2013.
• Member of WIT’s School of Business New Building Committee, 2008-2011.
• Waterford Retail Network.
• Kilkenny Retail Network.
• Member of Steering Committee for Needs Analysis of Student Health at WIT – Spring 2003-2004.
• Social science post-graduate representative to the Academic Council’s sub-committee on Research and Development – Spring 2002-Fall 2004.
• Founder member and past secretary of Graduate Business Society

Funding attained:

• €48,000 WIT PhD Scholarship 2014-2015
• €260,000 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher Scheme, 2008/2009, for the purpose of conducting innovation research in small Irish firms.
• Strand I 2008 – €240,000 (six research projects).
• BEHEST funding 2007; €35,000.
• Strand I 2007; €40,000.
• Fáilte Ireland Scholarship 2007; €24,000.
• Failte Ireland Professional Development 2007; €60,700.
• BEHEST funding 2006; €6,000 – lead author.
• Government of Ireland Scholarship; awarded 2001 to fund PhD

Courses Attended:

• 2010-2011 – attended training workshops on recognition of prior learning, facilitated by Dr. Margaret Linehan and Irene Sheridan, UCC.
• 2009 – DIT E-Learning One-week Summer School
• 2008-2009 academic year: attended workshops on action learning, academic writing, business simulation, and problem-based learning.
• 2006 Web-CT workshop.
• August 2004: Two week course in Structural Equation Modelling, using AMOS, Essex Summer Programme on Research Methods.
• Spring 2004: Three day course on LISREL, Trinity College Dublin.
• January 2003: Course on Supervision of PhD/Masters by Research presented by Prof. Dan Reminyi.
• 2001/2002: Attended several courses on research methods presented by Institute.
• Winter 2002: Organised and attended a two day training session for researchers at WIT on Nvivo software.
• Summer 2002: Two day course on multiple regression, University of Manchester.
• One day workshop on case study methodology presented by Prof. Brian Leahy.
• One day workshop on action learning presented by Prof. Tony Cunningham.