FUNDED PROJECTS
MCASID
This project involves the design and delivery of a new pilot postgraduate summer school for accounting students that will explore how management control practices (MCPs) motivate sustainable success.
Category: Incubator Grant
University:
University of Galway, Ghent University, University of Groningen
Period:
2025-2027
This project involves the design and delivery of a new pilot postgraduate summer school for accounting students that will explore how management control practices (MCPs) motivate sustainable success. The curriculum will integrate theory and practice through interactive lectures, role-plays, interdisciplinary seminars, case discussions, and a challenge-based learning approach focused on ‘management control in the wild’. Working in cross-institutional teams, participants will develop actionable recommendations for the design and use of motivational MCPs, informed by diverse disciplinary insights.
The two main goals of the project are to first, equip students with the knowledge and tools to evaluate and design MCPs for diverse work environments. It will enable students to comprehend and critique key management control theories and understand how MCPs influence behaviours. Second, the project also aims to foster intercultural and interdisciplinary competencies through co-learning and team-based challenges. This will strengthen communication, leadership, and collaboration skills in international teams, while fostering cross-cultural and interdisciplinary competencies.
Key activities include engagement with industry and public-sector practitioners, who will deliver seminars on their experiences of motivational aspects of management control. Additional learning will take place through role-plays, challenge-based group work, and final presentations. Assessments involve interdisciplinary, cross-cultural teams analysing how MCPs support sustainable performance in diverse organisational contexts.
This innovative project will have a distinct impact by equipping future professionals and researchers with the knowledge and skills to design and implement inclusive, motivational management control practices for diverse organisational contexts. Through the experience of challenge-based learning, participants build practical problem-solving and intercultural competencies transferrable to their future roles. The initiative also deepens collaboration across three ENLIGHT institutions and creates reusable teaching resources. The positive academic and societal impacts are in line with ENLIGHT’s vision of education that is collaborative, transformative, and future-focused.
Participants and Stakeholders
- Coordinator: Prof. Breda Sweeney, University of Galway, Ireland
- Other Partner Institutions: University of Groningen, Netherlands; University of Ghent, Belgium
- Team Composition
|
Key Personnel |
Role in the Project |
|
Prof. Breda Sweeney University of Galway, Ireland
Raima Sabeen Imtiaz (PhD Student in Accounting)
|
Prof Sweeney serves as the lead of the initiative and oversees the coordination of the summer school across partner universities, with the location of the summer school spread across the partners. She plays a central role in the design and delivery of the project. She also leads the development of the assessment, which forms a key part of the initiative. Her PhD student will play a critical role in coordinating the summer school in Galway and in student assessment of this element. |
|
Dr Patricia Martyn, University of Galway, Ireland |
Dr Martyn collaborates with Prof Sweeney and plays a central role in the planning, execution, delivery, assessment, and post-delivery evaluation of the Galway element of the project. She is also responsible for engaging industry partners in Galway. |
|
Prof. Dr. Paula Dirks, Professor of Management Accounting Mr Sander Tiggelaar, PhD in Accounting student |
The project is co-designed and will be co-delivered by Prof Paula Dirks, who plays a plays a central role in the planning, execution, delivery, assessment, and post-delivery evaluation of the Groningen element of the project. She is also responsible for engaging industry partners in Groningen. Her PhD student will play a critical role in coordinating the summer school in Groningen and in student assessment of this element. |
|
Prof. Dr. Sophie Hoozée, Associate Professor of Management Accounting and Control
Mr Nicola Van Camp, PhD student in Business Economics and Engineering |
The project is co-designed and will be co-delivered by Prof Hoozée, who plays a plays a central role in the planning, execution, delivery, asessment, and post-delivery evaluation of the Ghent element of the project. She is also responsible for engaging industry partners in Ghent. Her PhD student will play a critical role in coordinating the summer school in Ghent and in student assessment of this element. |
|
Stakeholders and External Partners |
Industry partners will deliver seminars under the theme "Management Control in the wild" to provide practical insights into how MCPs motivate sustainable success. |
Objectives
- Equip students with the knowledge and tools to evaluate and design motivational management control practices for diverse work environments.
- Foster intercultural and interdisciplinary competencies through co-learning and team-based challenges.
Contact
Prof. Breda Sweeney
Email:
Additional information
‘Management Control in the Wild’ distinguishes this project by immersing students in real organisational challenges and by bridging theory and practice through experiential learning. Its focus on the motivational implications of MCPs addresses a critical and underexplored management control issue. The motivational effects of control are still not well understood, and this can lead to weak or unsuitable control combinations and serious consequences for individuals, organisations and society. Co-designed with partner institutions and external stakeholders, the project ensures both academic rigour and practical relevance. The pilot summer school provides a scalable ENLIGHT model that supports shared curricula, mobility, and long-term capacity building.