Dr Jonathan Lean 

Dr Jonathan Lean is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management at Plymouth Business School. His research interests include government policy towards small firms, training and development in small firms, micro-finance and education for entrepreneurship. Jonathan is supervisor for a number of PhD studies examining aspects of small business.

Email: jonathan.lean@plymouth.ac.uk

Dr Mel Hudson Smith

Dr Mel Hudson Smith is a Lecturer in Operations Management at Plymouth Business School. Her research interests include implementing new techniques in small firms and operations management and improvement in services. Mel is Postgraduate Research Coordinator for the School of Management and supervises research students undertaking projects in the area of operations and supply chain management.

Email: melanie.hudson-smith@plymouth.ac.uk

Luke Sloan

Luke Sloan is in his third year of studying for a PhD in Politics with the LGC Elections Centre at the University of Plymouth. His research interests are local government and minor parties, understanding party success through electoral cycles and the application of statistical methods in social science. He is also an Associate Lecturer in Politics and teaches democratic theory and context. Luke's role on the committee this year is primarily to provide advice and support based on his experience of chairing the organising committee in 2008.

Email: luke.sloan@plymouth.ac.uk

Tarek Kandil

Tarek Kandil is an International student from Egypt. He's a full time PhD student within the Plymouth Business School and his thesis is on the effect of culture on cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector. Tarek completed his Masters degree in Entrepreneurship and Marketing in EGYPT in 2000. Furthermore between 1997 and 2006 he was involved in academic work as an assistant lecturer at Helwan University in Cairo.

Email: tarek.kandil@plymouth.ac.uk

Victoria Hamlyn

Victoria Hamlyn is a second year PhD research student within the Plymouth Business School and an Associate Lecturer on the LLB Law undergraduate programme, teaching contract law at stage 1. Her PhD research interest relates to the legal regimes governing marine renewable energy in England and Wales and their effectiveness in facilitating marine renewable energy development. She also has research interests in international human rights law and environmental law. Victoria completed the LLB (Hons) here at the University of Plymouth in 2006 and graduated with a Masters from the University of Exeter in 2008 in International and Comparative Public Law.

Email: victoria.hamlyn@plymouth.ac.uk

Awais Raza

Awais Raza is a 1st year MPhil student in the School of Management.  His research interests are inter-disciplinary; these include data/information dissemination and visualisation, diffusion of innovation, work based social networks, socio-economic research, strategic knowledge and information management, partnership/collaborative working, information management and geographic information systems and change management in public sector organisations.  He is currently involved in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership Project between the University of Plymouth and the Plymouth 2020 Local Strategic Partnership.

Email: awais.raza@plymouth.ac.uk

Esam Osman

Esam is a third year PhD research student at Plymouth Business School (School of Management), his research interests including strategic management and information system planning, "Alignment of information system plan with business strategy", organization culture and change management, Enterprise architecture, enterprise resource planning (ERP), indirect effects relationship in structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS. Esam graduated from National Institute of Finance and Management (NIFM) with BSc in Accounting, and he holds MA and MSc from Wolverhampton University and Staffordshire University (MSc), West Midlands, UK.

Email: esam.osman@plymouth.ac.uk