Dr Fatema Kawaf MSc, PhD, FHEA

Dr Fatema Kawaf is an Associate Professor in Digital Marketing and the Academic Portfolio Lead for Marketing and Communication.

Dr Kawaf is an innovator in visual methods as the founder of the Screencast Videography methodology, a qualitative visual method for studying digital experience. Her work sits at the intersection of digital marketing, consumer research and information system, and her research appear in top Marketing and IS conferences and journals. Dr Kawaf is the chair of the Academy of Marketing Visual Methods SIG - an international network of over 300 academics. As part of this SIG leadership, she regularly organises and runs various activities, including workshops, mini-conferences, webinars, and panel discussions in various areas, all addressed from a visual research lens. She has recently been elected as a board member for the UK Academy of Information System (UKAIS) as the Impact and External Engagement Lead.

Dr Kawaf's research has received many prestigious awards and is making a significant societal impact through her leadership of various research grants working with businesses and NGOs. Her research interests include Digital and Social Media Marketing, Visual and Videography research, Viral Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Web Atmospherics, Customer Journeys and Touchpoints Analysis, Customer Experience, Online Shopping Environments, as well as special interests in Fashion and Luxury Consumption, Advanced Technology (AI and VR in Marketing), Sustainability, Recycling and Waste Reduction, Political Polarisation and the Filter Bubble concept. She delivers regular keynotes and invited talks in various academic and industry events both in the UK (e.g. Royal Holloway University, University of East Anglia (Norwich Business School), Edinburgh Napier University, and University of Essex) and abroad (e.g. University of Barcelona – Spain, University of Sharjah – UAE, and University of Annamalai – India).

Dr Kawaf has a strong consultancy and funded research profile, she has successfully managed funding for 11 projects, totalling roughly £325,000, half of which is three solo Knowledge Exchange and Embed Partnership Bids with two businesses and one charity. She has worked on funded research and consultancy in areas of consumer behaviour, digital and social media marketing and customer experience with partners such as Essex County Council, Instant Pickup (Uber-like app for on-demand deliveries using electric vans), Brighter Futures (supporting adults with learning disabilities), and Pic Tree (creative multimedia company). She is open to discussing industry collaborations and potential KTP funding, she is particularly passionate about supporting SMEs to find funding to help them grow.

Dr Kawaf supervises PhD students in subjects relating to her areas of expertise within Digital and Social Media Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, including two competitive VC scholarship PhD candidates. She is open to supervising excellent PhD candidates and to act as examiner within her areas of expertise and interests

Prior to joining Greenwich University in January 2018, Dr Kawaf worked at the University of Essex, Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Strathclyde where she gained her PhD in Marketing. She has extensive teaching experience in the UK and the Middle East, spanning more than 17 years and teaching at all levels including UG, PG, MBA and PhD levels. She has taught a wide variety of modules including Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Communications, Branding, Introduction to Marketing, and Marketing Management. Dr Kawaf's teaching philosophy focuses on experiential learning and learning by doing, her teaching uniquely blends a research-led approach with ‘real-life’ business and societal issues. Her students particularly enjoy her highly interactive teaching style and they have nominated her for multiple teaching awards over the years. She was awarded the Teaching Excellence award for best research supervisor at the University of Essex in 2017.