Lecturer and Chief Executive
Jamie Newth completed his PhD in social entrepreneurship. He now works as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Auckland and is CEO of Soul Capital.
Key facts
Career: Lecturer and entrepreneur
Programme: Bachelor of Commerce, Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce, Master of Commerce, PhD
Subjects: Management and International Business, Organisational Change and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Leadership, team dynamics, Social Entrepreneurship
It’s a great environment for PhD students. I found that there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in meaningful teaching and prepare for an academic career while also doing interesting things in industry with practitioners.
Jamie completed a Bachelor of Commerce, Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce and Master of Commerce at the University of Auckland Business School and worked as an independent consultant before joining the PhD programme.
Jamie’s PhD topic was titled “Contextualising Social Entrepreneurship: Innovation, Resistance, and Hybridity” and he carried out research with global non-governmental organisation World Vision.
“We’re seeing dramatic growth in social entrepreneurship where innovation and enterprise are used to address social and environmental problems. There’s increasing promise that this will lead to a more sustainable and inclusive economy. But there are significant gaps in our knowledge, which is why this research needed to happen. I was particularly interested in how innovation happens within social entrepreneurship."
Jamie says academics across the Business School were always available to discuss topics such as ethics, research methodology and subject area experts.
“That collegial environment is very important. And my two supervisors were great - they supported me to do research that really resonated with me and the kind of work I wanted to do in a relatively new subject area.”
Jamie’s research with World Vision took him to East Africa and the Pacific, and he had chance to participate in “instrumental” doctoral workshops in the US and present at various conferences.
Jamie has also spent time at Oxford University as a visiting academic.