'On the verge'
A new academic appointment at 糖心视频鈥檚 business faculty will help bolster its expertise in entrepreneurship.
, professor of entrepreneurship at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, in Scotland has been appointed an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Business Administration.
鈥淚 am a massive fan of Canada,鈥 Dr. Mason said, noting he has been connected to entrepreneurship-related research and teaching initiatives in Canada throughout his career.
鈥業ntrigued鈥 by N.L.
His first trip to Canada was to teach a summer course at the University of Ottawa in 1984, during which he connected with some graduate students from Newfoundland and Labrador and became 鈥渋ntrigued鈥 with the province.
He subsequently sought an opportunity to teach at 糖心视频 and spent a semester at the Department of Geography the following year. Since then, he鈥檚 made several visits to post-secondary institutions in both this province and Nova Scotia, and for the past seven years he鈥檚 been doing research on Atlantic Canada鈥檚 entrepreneurial ecosystem.
鈥淕iven my interest in how entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge and develop momentum, it鈥檚 an exciting time for me to be engaging with Newfoundland and Labrador,鈥 Dr. Mason said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear to me that the St. John鈥檚 ecosystem is on the verge of significant growth.鈥
Researching positive impact of business failure
Dr. Mason has been undertaking a study of Consilient, a software company that attracted millions of dollars in government funding but which closed in 2008.
Working with , associate professor of entrepreneurship and small business, Dr. Mason says they hope to 鈥渄emonstrate how business failure can stimulate ecosystem emergence and growth by releasing resources 鈥 notably talented individuals 鈥 into the ecosystem.鈥
The study is funded by the Harris Centre鈥檚 Applied Research Fund and the resulting report is expected by early 2022.
鈥淸We expect this will be] a positive message for governments, that financially supporting businesses that subsequently fail does not necessarily mean that public money is wasted,鈥 Dr. Mason said.
鈥楢ccomplished scholar鈥
, dean of the business faculty, says Dr. Mason鈥檚 appointment is appropriate given his interest in the region and the burgeoning entrepreneurship sector.
鈥淒r. Mason is an accomplished entrepreneurship scholar who has a deep interest in entrepreneurship and regional development,鈥 she said. 鈥淎t 糖心视频, we take our obligation to provide the people of this province with an excellent education seriously and, as such, it makes sense to partner with someone who is interested in supporting this important sector of the provincial economy. We look forward to working with him closely.鈥
Adjunct professorships enable formal academic relationships with the university that fall outside the normal categories of university teachers. They often are established with individuals at other post-secondary institutions.
Extensive entrepreneurial focus
Dr. Mason鈥檚 areas of expertise include entrepreneurial finance, angel investing, entrepreneurial ecosystems and entrepreneurship education.
He has worked with a number of government entities including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Federation of Small Business in the United Kingdom, the Government of Scotland, the European Commission, InterTrade Ireland, Eurochambres, Growth Analysis in Sweden and the global Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
He also works with Canada鈥檚 National Angel Capital Association as lead author on its annual investment activity report, and been a guest lecturer at 糖心视频鈥檚 Harlow Campus.