Miss Shona Blair

Personal statement

Shona joined the Department of Management Science as a Teaching Associate in 2017. In her first year, she was shortlisted for two university-wide Teaching Excellence awards. Her shortlistings in categories “Most Supportive” and “Best in Business Faculty” recognise her long-standing passion for teaching and her continued efforts towards ensuring a first-class educational experience for each and every student.

Shona’s scholarly interests lie in the areas of discrete event simulation (in particular, investigating new approaches to the exploration and analysis of the model input-output space), and the empirical Bayes approach to statistical analysis (in particular, investigating how it can be employed fruitfully in management science contexts). Shona has a background in mathematics and worked in the finance industry, before returning to academia to pursue her PhD in Management Science and carry out knowledge exchange work in association with the department.

Shona has a strong track record of leadership in the Department of Management Science. Since joining the Department of Management Science, she has been Co-Director of the MSc Financial Technology in its inaugural year of operation, Honours Convenor and Deputy Director of Undergraduate Studies, Ethics Convenor, and Director of Experiential Learning, a post she co-developed with Professor Alec Morton, to address a strategic, departmental need in managing MSc student apprenticeships and projects, and bridging KE and teaching activity in general.

Teaching Portfolio – Class Coordinator:

MS112: Business Analysis and Technology

MS361: Understanding and Optimising Business Systems

MS424: Honours Research Methods

MS922: Quantitative Business Analysis

MS994: Becoming an Effective Financial Technology Analyst

MS931/MS983/MS820: MSc Dissertation in BAC/DA/HAPM

MS981 - Datalab

Teaching Portfolio - Other:

MS416: Business Analytics Using Data Mining

MS985: Business and Decision Modelling

MS930/935: Unstructured Examination

MG919/MG814: Analytical Support for Decision-Making

MG928: Analytical Support for Decision-Making

MG835 Project Portfolio Management