From Practice to Thought Leadership: Why EAFIT’s Director of Global Management Chose the UBI DBA
Camilo Pérez-Restrepo is Director of Global Management at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia — one of the eight business schools in the consortium supporting UBI Doctor of Business Administration. He has spent years helping Latin American companies enter international markets. In 2025, he stepped to the other side of the consortium: as a Year 1 candidate in the DBA itself.
Why a doctorate after a career in international business?
Camilo’s career spans international business, public policy, teaching and research. In practice, he has supported many small and medium-sized companies as they enter international markets — but day-to-day professional life rarely leaves time to examine how those firms actually build strategies and capabilities as they expand abroad.
“The DBA offered me the opportunity to step back from that immediate practice and study these questions with greater depth and rigour. I also wanted to strengthen my methodological and analytical tools, so that my work could generate not only practical and empirical insights, but also academically relevant knowledge.”
A DBA, not a PhD?
Both the DBA and PhD are doctorate qualifications positioned at Level 8 of the European Qualifications Framework — the highest level of academic achievement. While PhD research is often centered on advancing theoretical or disciplinary knowledge, a DBA is designed for experienced professionals seeking to investigate complex questions arising from management and organisational practice.
For professionals like Camilo, this means applying doctoral-level research rigour to real-world challenges, generating insights that are academically grounded and directly relevant to professional practice.
Why the UBI DBA?
Two things proved decisive: the international cohort, and the ability to keep leading while studying.
“I wanted to learn alongside people coming not only from different industries, but also from different countries and professional contexts. That diversity creates a much richer learning environment, where ideas can be challenged and understood from multiple perspectives.”
The programme’s HyFlex delivery — live sessions joined on campus or online, interchangeably — made the second condition possible.
“I wanted to continue leading the Global Management team at EAFIT and working directly with companies while developing my research.”
Inside Year 1: research applied to your own project
The first year of the DBA combines four taught modules with an Advanced Practitioner Review — and, from day one, everything feeds the candidate’s own project.
“From the very beginning, we have been encouraged not only to develop new knowledge and competencies, but also to apply them directly to our own doctoral projects.”
Two modules stand out for him so far: Fundamentals of Strategy and Management, because strategy sits at the heart of his research, and Qualitative Applied Research — which turned methods he had already used in practice into a rigorous methodological foundation. His Year 1 literature review has already surfaced a gap in the field: little is understood about how emerging-economy SMEs develop the capabilities to operate in the world’s most complex markets.
Two mentors, one research direction
Every UBI DBA candidate is guided by two mentors — one academic, one practitioner. Camilo’s pairing shows why the model works: one of his mentors brings deep expertise in Latin America’s relationships with Asia and other emerging markets, situating the project in its economic and institutional context, while Dr María Altamira, UBI’s Dean of Postgraduate Programmes, strengthens the theoretical lenses and methodology behind it.
“My two mentors bring very complementary perspectives.”
Research that travels: Latin American SMEs in China and beyond
Camilo’s research examines the capabilities Latin American SMEs need not just to enter, but to remain active in highly complex markets such as China. Looking ahead, Camilo hopes the research can contribute at three levels: practical insight for firms designing international strategies; better-informed support from governments, trade-promotion agencies and universities like EAFIT; and a theoretical contribution to the international business literature on how emerging-economy firms build and adapt capabilities abroad.
“The DBA gives me the opportunity to turn years of working with SMEs into a deeper understanding of how they build international strategies and develop the capabilities to succeed in complex markets. More importantly, it allows me to bridge practice and scholarship — to generate knowledge that can shape business decisions, inform public policy, and contribute to the international business field.”
The UBI DBA at a glance
- Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) — a British doctorate awarded by Middlesex University London
- 3 years, part-time — designed for senior professionals who keep working while they study
- HyFlex delivery: Brussels, Shanghai or online — English, Spanish and Mandarin tracks
- Developed with a consortium of eight leading business schools across Europe, Latin America and Asia
- Two mentors per candidate: one academic, one practitioner
- Completion routes: doctoral dissertation, professional artefact with critical commentary, or a publications-based pathway — concluding with a Viva Voce
- September intake — applications close 21 September (applicants requiring a visa who plan to study on campus: 30 May)
- Tuition on enquiry — contact admissions
Explore the Doctor of Business Administration or book a conversation with our admissions team to discuss whether the DBA fits your next step.
