Dr Syahirah Abdul Rahman

• BMGT7075 Final Research Project
• Integrated Business Research Project pathway

I also supervise dissertation (undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA), PhD, client project, and placement students

I am currently supervising PhD students and are open to more supervision. Please contact me for potential supervision in the areas of: 

• commercialisation
• entrepreneurship
• innovation

My research method expertise is qualitative, specifically through interviews, observation, and focus groups. However, I am open to a range of methodologies, including quantitative and innovative methodologies. I prefer to conduct research from a critical perspective, bringing in aspects of economic geography such as cultural economy, narratives, and feminist methodologies, although I am open to learning and collaborating with different types of research designs.

My research interest could be divided into three main themes:

Commercialisation of research 

 I do extensive research on commercialisation of research with a focus on social science, humanities and the arts for the people and the economy (SHAPE). I observe commercialisation of research as a pathway to impact and I am interested in learning about its processes. I work closely with the ESRC to learn about drivers, barriers, and landscape of commercialisation. I have also worked with the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council to understand barriers to commercialisation in the bioscience. I am also interested in research on how commercialisation feeds into the third or fourth mission of the university, the role of technology transfer offices or knowledge transfer offices in enabling SHAPE commercialisation, and a stakeholder view of research commercialisation to regional development.

Alternative Perspectives of Entrepreneurship 

I have conducted research with Dr Doaa Althalathini  to observe the challenges of entrepreneurship among female refugees in the UK. I am interested in the lens of gender dimensions in entrepreneurship, to understand nuances of how gender discourses may help us to problematise the concept of self-empowerment in entrepreneurship among different intersectionality of gender. I am also interested in other dimensions of entrepreneurship, including the effects of Artificial Intelligence to gender inclusivity within entrepreneurship, the effect of social impact and social ventures to diversity in entrepreneurship, among others.

Other areas of research 

I have written on other aspects of innovation, collaborating closely with Prof Marc Cowling  on the effects of investment into certain innovation decisions, practices and behaviours in firms.

My primary research impact centres on advancing the commercialisation of research within the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts (SHAPE), challenging the traditional STEM-centric approach to research impact. I have worked closely with a diverse range of stakeholders across the research commercialisation ecosystem—both in the UK and internationally—including policy actors such as ESRC, UKRI, BBSRC, and AHRC, as well as practitioners and academic entrepreneurs. Through evidence-led support, I have informed the implementation of national policy and enabled more effective decision-making in this area. A notable example is my contribution to the development of the multidisciplinary Food Systems Commercialisation Catalyst, a collaboration between ESRC and BBSRC that is investing up to £1 million in grants and £500,000 in support for multidisciplinary teams to address healthy, sustainable, and resilient food systems through commercialisation. My research has illuminated the drivers and barriers to commercialisation in SHAPE disciplines, resulting in practical guidance for policy actors, funders, and technology/knowledge transfer offices. I regularly present my findings to stakeholders nationally and internationally, produce widely circulated policy briefings, and explore innovative dissemination methods such as podcasts and multimedia outputs. My collaborative projects include the Shared Technology Transfer Office to Accelerate the Growth of Self-Funded Spinouts (STAGE), a pilot funded with £415,980 from Research England’s Development (RED) fund. STAGE provides a scalable, shared TTO model for creative and social sciences, supporting smaller universities to develop new spinouts and attracting international attention as a blueprint for SHAPE commercialisation. Through these initiatives, I have delivered tangible, real-world impact and fostered new pathways for knowledge exchange and innovation within and beyond the academic community.

• Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics
• Academy of Management

• Academy of Management Annual Meeting
•  Knowledge Exchange UK Annual Conference
• Association of European Science and Technology Transfer Professionals Annual Conference
•  Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Annual Conference