Also in the news

British Sociological Association appointment

Dr Jen Remnant has been appointed as the new Chair of the British Sociological Association.

Jen is a senior lecturer at the Scottish Centre for Employment (SCER) within the Department of Work, Employment and Organisation, working primarily on projects around workplace inclusion and disability rights, and she is a familiar presence across the Association’s work. As Chair, she will help guide the Association’s strategic direction and ensure the Association stays close to the concerns of its members.

Jen’s term runs from April 2026 to Summer 2028.

https://es.britsoc.co.uk/announcing-the-new-bsa-chair/

UAE panel discussion focused on resilience

The Strathclyde MBA UAE centre held an online panel discussion focused on resilience in the Middle East on April 29.
The discussion brought together perspectives from the energy, entrepreneurship, technology, and tourism sectors – with industry leaders, Strathclyde faculty and alumni from the UK, UAE, KSA, and Bahrain.

A key theme throughout the discussion was that resilience is not just about how quickly organisations recover from disruption, but how intentionally they are designed before disruption happens.

Some of the insights explored included:

• Designing for disruption, not just recovery
• The growing importance of optionality, flexibility and strategic buffers
• Navigating trade-offs between efficiency, flexibility, and resilience
• Moving from siloed approaches toward integrated systems thinking
• Viewing resilience as infrastructure and long-term investment, rather than overhead
• Recognising that sometimes the most strategic response is to pause, reassess, and reset

Abigail Davenport, UAE centre manager, said, “The panel session reflected on how the UAE and wider region have consistently turned periods of uncertainty into catalysts for reinvention and growth, from the 2008 financial crisis through to one of the world’s fastest post-pandemic recoveries.

A sincere thank you to our panellists for sharing such thoughtful and practical insights, and to our guests who contributed to the conversation.

AI expertise in demand

Dr Viktor Dorfler, Department of Management Science, has been in demand for his expertise in AI this year, with six keynote talks arranged so far.

Viktor has also been invited to provide his expert option on several podcasts and as a guest speaker at round table events.

He gave the keynote at Baskent University, Türkiye, at the Early-Career Winter Workshop 2026: Emerging Research Opportunities and Advances in AI-Driven Research Methods, on February 11–13 on “Ethics & Transparency in AI Research”.

He then gave a talk on AI for Hospitality Managers at the Sustainable by Design: Circular Solutions and Future Trends in Hospitality conference from April 8-9 at Özyeğin University, İstanbul, Türkiye, before travelling to Dennis Gabor University, Budapest Hungary for the FIFI 2006: The Future of Intelligence, the Future of Implementations conference on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation on May 18 where his keynote talk was “AI and Work in Learning Organisations Tomorrow.”

Three more are upcoming:

• UK SCALE 2026: UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence Centre’s symposium, Hope not hype – Effective digitalisation for better supply chain solutions, June 25, Holywell Conference Centre, Loughborough University, UK where he will talk on “AI Ethics & Sustainability”.
• IFKAD 2026: 21st International Forum on Knowledge Asset Dynamics, Intelligent Knowledge for Sustainable Organisations, J.uly 1-3, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary where his talk is “AI, KM, & Sustainability”.
• TAOM 2026: Turkish Academy of Management 3rd Annual Meeting, 31 August – September 4, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye

Viktor’s most recent podcast was recorded in Hungarian - the captions can be set to auto-translate so can be read in English - released just nine days ago, has amassed over 117k views: https://youtu.be/ybUQxnYq2Vs

International Research Conference in Marketing

The Department of Marketing held the 13th International Research Conference in Marketing on May 18 and 19.

Renowned researchers Professor Diane Martin of the University of Galway and Professor Christof Backhaus from Technische Universität Braunschweig gave the keynote speeches.

The Department’s PhD students made presentations related to their research, with the following awards given:

First Place:

• Irem Tastan - Navigating (In)Visible Stigma: The early Menopause Experience

Second Place:

• Sara Alanazi - How AI Service Agent Job Titles Influence Consumer Preference for Recommendation Quantity

Highly Commended:

• Alaa Dighriri – Human-Like vs. System-Based Trust in AI-ETs: The Role of Culture in Shaping Consumer Trust
• Karen Chukwu – Startup Sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study of the Role of Venture Capital Support in Start-Up Success in Sub Saharan Africa.

Student-run TEA awards recognise SBS staff

The Teaching Excellence Awards (TEAs) are Strathclyde's student-led teaching awards, held annually to recognise the best of Strathclyde's teaching and university staff.

Being student-led means it is solely students who nominate, shortlist and pick the winners, and Strathclyde Business School staff were recognised in several of the awards, with 48 individuals nominated for awards, some in several categories, and four members of staff winning in different categories.

Susan Jackson, senior programme administrator in SEED, was the winner in the ‘Best Non-Teaching/Support Staff’ category while Natalie Wilson, Department of Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation, was also shortlisted.

Dr Anna Spadavecchia, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation, was shortlisted in the ‘Best PGR Supervisor’ category.

The winner of the ‘Best Teaching Assistant or Tutor’ category was Department of Accounting and Finance tutor Sara Szoboszlai. Jan Jasinski, PhD researcher in the Hunter Centre, was shortlisted in the same category.

The Hunter Centre’s Dr Lucrezia Casulli was the winner of the ‘Changemaker Award’. Also shortlisted was Craig McLaughlin, Department of Accounting & Finance.

Mahdi Doostmohammadi, Department of Management Science, was shortlisted in the ‘Above and Beyond Teaching’ category.

Anna Spadavecchia, Ian Moir, Lucrezia Casuli, Natalie Wilson and Sara Szoboszlai were all shortlisted for the ‘Best in Business’ faculty award, with Natalie Wilson, senior programmes administrator in the Hunter Centre, winning the category overall.

Congratulations to all staff who featured in the awards – click here for a link to all the award winners.

Marketing academic co-chairs Consumer Research Workshop

Professor Kathy Hamilton, Department of Marketing, was co-chair of the 13th Interpretive Consumer Research Workshop, held at the University of Pisa from April 15-17.

Along with co-chairs Professor Daniele Dalli (University of Pisa), Professor Maud Herbert (University of Lille), and Professor Liz Parsons (University of Liverpool), they welcomed over 100 delegates from across Europe, United States, Brazil, Singapore, and Canada.

A key feature of the event, which makes it different to a typical conference, is that it maintains a ‘workshop’ spirit and focus on ongoing research projects in early stages of development. The focus on this occasion was on theoretical and methodological innovation in interpretive consumer research.

The RECCO Crew goes old school

Academics from the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation went from authors to production line packers as boxes of their RECCO Crew books arrived at Strathclyde Business School reception this month.

The RECCO Crew’s digital book series has already won huge support and interest from Scotland's teachers – the character-based books introduce entrepreneurial thinking and doing in an engaging and child-friendly way, through the adventures of Resilience, Empathy, Collaboration, Creativity, and Optimism (RECCO).

Following some prototype printing in January, the Crew’s first print edition of their books arrived at Strathclyde Business School in a very big pile of boxes. The reception team on the SBS front desk helped the Hunter Centre’s Lucrezia Casulli, Suzanne Mawson, and Sarah Dodd to manage all this stock and, over two days in mid-May, their newly formed production line packaged and posted out 600 books to 60 primary schools from Orkney to Dumfries. Funded by the Scottish Government, the books are free to schools with the aim of encouraging entrepreneurial thinking from a young age.

Next EDI Reading Group in June

An upcoming event exploring how reading groups can support and enhance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) across the University is taking place on June 8.

Building Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) through Reading Groups will take place from 10am-1pm in TL324.

This interactive session will bring together colleagues from across the University to share ideas, experiences, and practical approaches to using reading groups as spaces for dialogue, reflection, and inclusive practice.

The event will explore how shared reading and discussion can foster deeper understanding of diverse perspectives, support reflective teaching practice, and create inclusive spaces for meaningful dialogue. Alongside short talks, there will be opportunities for hands-on creative reflection and collaborative discussion. Lunch is also included.

For those who wish to attend, register your attendance here.

Staff development opportunities

The business school’s Digital Learning team are offering the following staff development opportunities in May and June - click on the links to view available dates and make a booking:

• MS Teams for Teaching: https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/Course/5789
• SBS Introduction to Gradebook and Reports: https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/Course/5791
• SBS MyPlace Accessibility Awareness: https://bookings.strath.ac.uk/Home/Course/6991