Dr Suzanne Mawson

Reader

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation

Contact

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Personal statement

I am a Reader in Entrepreneurship in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation (HCESI), which I joined in 2020. I am also the International MBA Director for our MBA programme in Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Previous I was the HCESI Director of Teaching and Learning and Deputy Director. My work is driven by the belief that entrepreneurial firm creation and growth plays a critical role in creating value for individuals, communities and society at large. These firms create jobs, wealth and opportunities, which in turn supports the development of dynamic, ambitious, innovative and socially progressive societies in which people can flourish. My research interests thus centre around how entrepreneurs think, make decisions and act in pursuit of developing and growing their businesses, as well as how such growth-oriented individuals can be supported through policy interventions, education and training. I have explored this from a number of perspectives, such as how growing firms access and use finance (entrepreneurial finance), how geography and place can support entrepreneurs and high growth entrepreneurship (entrepreneurial ecosystems), how policy mechanisms can support high growth firms/scale-ups (high growth entrepreneurship policy) and how education and training can shape entrepreneurial thinking and action (entrepreneurial mindset) to encourage value creation activity throughout all parts of society.

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Research Interests

My area of expertise is broadly entrepreneurship, specifically business development and growth in the context of young ventures and SMEs. Much of my work to date has focused on high growth/scale-up entrepreneurship, including the nature and processes of growth in these firms, their support requirements (financial and otherwise) and the wider public policy context and support mechanisms designed for high growth firms/scale-ups (high growth entrepreneurship policy). I am also interested in wider issues related to business development and growth including creativity; entrepreneurial thinking and mindset; the role of entrepreneurial financing; the effect of changes in ownership structure and business models; business accelerator programming, as well as entrepreneurship education for different audiences.

Professional Activities

Documentary Screening - "Unfiltered: Life as Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs"
Contributor
19/3/2026
Strategy Making - Neurodiveristy in Entrepreneurship
Host
11/9/2025
Toward a Cumulative Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program: Research Synthesis and Encyclopaedia Development
Speaker
25/7/2025
Pathway pledge - Neurodiversity in Entrepreneurship
Speaker
5/6/2025
DEVELOPING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET: Implications for educational settings
Speaker
21/5/2025
Writing for publication in business and management
Speaker
19/2/2025

More professional activities

Projects

Mission “Empowerment”: Transforming Teachers' Engagement with EE
Mawson, Suzanne (Principal Investigator) Casulli, Lucrezia (Co-investigator) Drakopoulou Dodd, Sarah (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
ESRC Impact Acceleration Account "building neuroinclusivity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem"
Casulli, Lucrezia (Principal Investigator) Achlada, Yolanda (Post Grad Student) Mawson, Suzanne (Co-investigator) Smith, Marisa (Co-investigator) Taylor, Helen (Co-investigator)
A series of events involving multiple stakeholders to promote neurodiverse needs in engaging with entrepreneurial activity
06-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2025
Entrepreneurial mindset for primary school children: Educational resources for entrepreneurial skills
Mawson, Suzanne (Principal Investigator) Casulli, Lucrezia (Co-investigator) Drakopoulou Dodd, Sarah (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
The Neuro-inclusive SBS classroom
Casulli, Lucrezia (Principal Investigator) Mawson, Suzanne (Co-investigator)
SBS recognises the increasing need to ensure accessibility and inclusion within its teaching and learning activity, particularly with regard to neurodiversity. Neurodiversity refers to the different ways a person’s brain processes information and it is thus central to learning. Neurodivergent brains are found in autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of non-neurotypical information processing.

It is estimated that up to 20% of students may be neurodiverse, including those without a formal diagnosis. To date, however, limited evidence has been collated as to how SBS specific Teaching and Learning (T&L) activities can be made neuro-inclusive.

This project aims to:

1. Identify neurodivergent learning needs in the T&L activities specific to SBS Programmes;
2. Identify barriers to neurodivergent learning, including setting-specific barriers (part of the T&L activities of SBS) and process-specific barriers (timings, breaks, interactions required, etc.);
3. Provide “best practice” on context and processes involved in SBS Programme T&L activities (including the range of formats that learning materials should be made available in - e.g. visual, text, audio, etc. - to ALL students, regardless of formal diagnosis;
4. Provide “best practice” in relation to assessment formats and contents for neuro-inclusivity, regardless of formal diagnosis;
5. Raise awareness of the needs of neurodiverse students with the T&L Directors of all SBS departments, with a view for them to implement “best practice” in their respective departments.
01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2024
Entrepreneurial Mindset in UK HEI Curricula
Mawson, Suzanne (Principal Investigator) Casulli, Lucrezia (Co-investigator) Simmons, Emilee Lauran (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2023
Scottish Tech Ecosystem Fund
Wurth, Bernd (Principal Investigator) Mawson, Suzanne (Co-investigator) Shaw, Eleanor (Co-investigator)
11-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2022

More projects

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Contact

Dr Suzanne Mawson
Reader
Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Innovation

Email: s.mawson@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 553 6199