Dr Victoria Opara receives research funding
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BSU lecturer receives funding for research into professional identities
Tuesday, 28 January, 2025Dr Victoria Opara, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Leadership at Bath Spa University’s Bath Business School, has secured research funding through the British Academy's Talent Development Award.
The funding will support Victoria’s research and training development project, titled Professional Identity: A Multilevel Research Project, enabling her to investigate the ways in which professionals are likely to be impacted negatively when they deviate from the narrowly defined ideas of who a 'professional' is, and perceptions of how professionals ought to behave.
The British Academy’s Talent Development Awards scheme aims to support innovative research methods and promote skill-building and capacities for current and future generations in core areas like quantitative and interdisciplinary skills, data science, digital humanities and languages. Researchers must apply to the scheme and can receive grants of up to £10,000.
Talking about how she felt to receive the funding, Victoria said:
“I was pleased, and also aware that the journey is just starting. My main preoccupation is for my co-authors and I to do the research project justice. It is an important research area that will eventually shed light on professional identity oversights. There is potential for impact that is felt across society, within institutions and for those who navigate the lived experiences, on a day-to-day basis.”
She described her research project as a multi-level exploration of the regulation of identity within professional settings – the performative mechanisms that are used, typically by senior members, to control the self-identity of their employees. This could be expectations placed on them regarding who they are and how they ought to behave as a 'senior team member', 'professional' or 'expert'.
Victoria said:
“The problem is that these types of regulatory expectations can further perpetuate disadvantage if a tailored approach is not taken, specifically for those workers who do not conform to the traditional – and limited – definition of who a professional is.”
Victoria’s research project will run from February 2025 to February 2026 and is part of a larger project that will hopefully receive funding in the future.
Victoria is also thankful for her BSU colleagues who have supported her along the way:
“I'd like to thank Head of Bath Business School, Dr Diana Reader. She has always supported my research journey and was kind enough to provide me with a reference. I'd like to thank the RSO, especially Melanie Regan, for her support. Finally, thanks should go to Dr Ben Davies, who has often provided peer-review and feedback for me to implement and improve my research projects.”
Find out more about Bath Business School and research at BSU.