ISBE ECR/A Funding Awarded for 2024
ISBE is pleased to announce that the ECR SIG has awarded the following funding bursaries of £500 for 2024 to the following Early Career Researchers/Academics.
Congratulations to all!
Amee Yostrakul, Researcher – Edge Hill University
Amee Yostrakul is an early-career researcher interested in entrepreneurship and innovation. Her work focuses on two key themes: developing and optimising business models for small and independent businesses and applying design thinking and co-creation methods to tackle wicked problems. Amee is passionate about helping small businesses build a sustainable future.
Dr Doyin Olorunfemi, Lecturer in Management – University of Sunderland, London
Dr Doyin Olorunfemi is lecturer in Management at University of Sunderland, London. She ispassionate about micro businesses and SMEs, and keen on knowledge transfer projects that enable MSMEs adopt technology in cost effective ways. As a past business owner, she understands the importance of strategy and innovation in ensuring competitive advantage, so she actively creates tools to upskill MSMEs in these areas.
Her research focuses on entrepreneurial intersections (e.g. practice, learning, spirituality, sustainability) and specifically the role of selling as a trigger for entrepreneurship in women. Findings from her research suggest that practice-based approaches, like selling, foster entrepreneurial learning and development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
As an educator, she employs a practice-led approach, exploring the intersections of practice and theory through cases, to deliver engaging, experiential learning sessions that translate to optimal student experience. This is useful in her role as an ACEE (Academic Champion for embedding Employability and Enterprise) at the University of Sunderland, London. She is a Case Centre, ‘Case teaching scholar’ and also a certified Business Model You® practitioner, both of which enhance her output as an educator and researcher.
“reach, celebrate and reach again… It’s how we grow!”
Efe Imiren, Senior Lecturer – University of Suffolk
Efe began her academic career as a Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Suffolk Business School and now serves as a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Business Management within the School of Technology, Business and Arts. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), Efe holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from the University of Strathclyde.
An entrepreneur turned academic, Efe’s research examines entrepreneurial experiences in digital contexts, with a focus on legitimacy-building processes and the gendered dimensions of entrepreneurship. Her work has increasingly emphasized the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its implications for digital entrepreneurship ecosystems. Efe also investigates how digital entrepreneurs and stakeholders navigate institutional complexity, exploring the dual processes of legitimation and perpetuating gendered phenomena within these environments. With over a decade of experience as a digital entrepreneur, Efe brings a unique blend of practical expertise and academic rigor to her teaching, drawing on cutting-edge research to inform her pedagogy.
Efe is thrilled to receive the ISBE ECR grant, saying it will support my academic growth by funding memberships and conference participation. This investment will enhance my research visibility, provide access to invaluable resources and foster connections with peers and mentors, strengthening my career as an early-career researcher in entrepreneurship and innovation.
SIG Co-Chairs
Dr Kellie Forbes-Simpson, Northumbria University
Dr Elizabeth Heyworth-Thomas, Bangor University
Dr Faith Jeremiah, Lincoln University
Dr Trudie Murray, Munster Technological University
Dr Adekunle Oke, Leeds Beckett University
You can follow the ECR forum via LinkedIn