Dr Deema Refai
- Position: Associate Professor in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
- Areas of expertise: Constrained entrepreneurship - in under-represented contexts (refugees, rural, informal, poverty, women) - Entrepreneurship in under-developed economies - Entrepreneurial agency - Qualitative research
- Email: D.Refai@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: G.20 Charles Thackrah Building
- Website: LinkedIn | Googlescholar | Researchgate | ORCID
Profile
Deema Refai is an Associate Professor in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the University of Leeds and is currently Joint Editor in Chief of The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Deema’s research focus is developed around constrained entrepreneurship, with a particular interest in the refugee, migrant and rural contexts, where she has led/ co-led research projects funded by the British Academy, AHRC, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and others. Through her work, Deema has developed strong collaborations, particularly in Jordan and the UK, and has been involved in various activities, panels and discussions around issues relevant to the socio-economic contributions of migrants and refugees. Her work has been published in high-ranked international peer-reviewed journals and presented in a number of national and international conferences.
Prior to joining the University of Leeds, Deema has occupied academic roles at the University of Huddersfield/ UK and in Saudi Arabia. Coming from a pharmacy background, Deema has also worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a few years in Jordan.
Alongside her research interests, Deema is a passionate enterprise educator and has been involved in developing and leading various entrepreneurship-related subjects. Her teaching is largely informed by her research interests in ways that contribute to meaningful learning experiences.
Research interests
Deema supervises PhD students in the following areas:
- Constrained entrepreneurship (with a particular interest in refugee entrepreneurship, migrant entrepreneurship and rural entrepreneurship)
- Entrepreneurship in the Global South
- Informal entrepreneurship
Deema’s expertise is in qualitative research and has considerable knowledge in applying different philosophical paradigms in entrepreneurship research.
Qualifications
- PhD
- PGCHE
- MSc
- BSc Pharm
Professional memberships
- Joint Editor in Chief International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Editorial board International Small Business Journal, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research
- FHEA