Introduction: From Academic Submission to Intellectual Influence.

For a number of years, research followed a certain path. A student selected a subject, carried out in-depth research, formulated a thesis, defended this thesis to examiners, and submitted the final document to university. This constituted research completion once the thesis had been accepted. Research was seen primarily to have served a purpose: the gaining of a qualification.

However, the world we now live in does not perceive knowledge in such a restricted way.

Expertise is a key resource in today's world economy, industries use research to develop new ideas, businesses need a rationale for business plans in order to achieve a competitive advantage and the internet is enabling people with specialist knowledge to have a wider audience and an impact further afield than ever before. Research now extends beyond the classroom, the pages of journals or an institution's own archive.

It can be a source of influence.

This fundamental change has also impacted on what a thesis is.

A thesis is not simply a piece of research written and evaluated to meet an institutional requirement. It is a body of thought and of rigorous argument developed through analysis, criticism and specialist investigation. It evidences one's ability to grasp complex problems, generate novel thoughts, and make a relevant contribution within a defined area.

Such capabilities are extremely valuable beyond academia.

In spite of this opportunity, vast amounts of academic research are failing to translate effectively into practice. Academic systems were previously designed purely for verification and preservation, researchers were educated to produce academic research that could be presented to an institution, but rarely to communicate this research to a professional, commercial or public audience.

As a consequence much research is not receiving a sufficiently wide readership.

This disconnect has lead to the emergence of thesis commercialization, a growth development in today's academic culture.

Thesis commercialization refers to the process of translating academic research into a valuable professional resource or output and, as a result, enabling it to have an impact beyond university, in the form of, for example, book, reports to companies, consultancy frameworks, executive training and policy documentation, e-learning resources or thought leadership articles.

The idea is not to compromise academic principles.

The idea is to enhance academic influence.

Several global factors are assisting in this transition; digital publishing and creator economies have begun to challenge the institutional controls of academia, and the world of business is increasingly prioritizing experts with detailed specialist knowledge, analytical insight and evidence-based arguments over traditional credentials. The world no longer values knowledge merely for its existence but for what it is enabling to be done.

Expectations have changed for the modern researcher.

High-quality research will remain essential; however researchers will need to know how to position their knowledge for impact and for relevance in the working world and public sphere.

Therefore, in the future the true impact and value of an academic work will go beyond that offered by institutional endorsement.

Instead it will be defined by its capacity for influence, for professional contribution, and for long-term intellectual impact.

This is because a thesis in today's knowledge economy is now also a vehicle for authority and visibility.

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