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    Dr Maria Aina

    BEng(Hons), MSC, PhD, PGEducation, FHEA

    Senior Lecturer

    Photograph of Maria

    Maria Ainas's PhD is in Sustainable Supply Chain Management, and Business Simulation/Modelling. Her research interests include Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Agri-waste management, Agri-Tech, agribusiness entrepreneurship, Circular Economy Models, Business Strategy, Business Analytics, and Project Management.

    I have supported 3 PhD students, and I am currently accepting PhD Students in

    • Business Project Management
    • Rural Businesses and Entrepreneurship 
    • Sustainable Supply Chain
    • Circular Economy Models
    • Logistics and Transportation
    • Business Analytics and Simulation

    Professional Memberships

    • Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CLIT)
    • Higher Education Academy (HEA) - Fellow
    • Higher Education Academy (External Examiner)
    • Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply(CIPS)
    • British Academy of Management (BAM)
    • Women in Logistics (WIL)

    Academic Department: Harper Adams Business School

    Research: Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics (GIATE)

    Research: Rural Resilience Research Group (3RG)

    Office: JAF61 Jubilee Adams, Tudor Lodge and NW Building

    Publications

    Other publications

    • Maria Aina and Oghale Ayetuoma (2026) Attracting Young Talent to Agribusiness for Continuous Productivity and Efficiency Amidst Global Challenges (Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics (GIATE) 8th Symposium on Agri-Tech Economics for Sustainable Futures)
    • Blandine A. Ekpodilè-Domingo; Matthew Ayamga; Maria Aina. (2026) Reconstructing Entrepreneurial Identity: Women’s Agency and Stakeholder Influence on Affirming Women's Entrepreneurial Identity in Small Businesses Journal of Rural Studies (JRS). ((modifying))
    • Irene Bridget and Maria Aina (2025) The Emerald Handbook of Decolonising Sustainability: A Global South Perspective(Chapter contribution on Self-Employment in the Global South: Trends and Patterns)
    • Maria Aina and Oghale Ayetuoma (2025) Examining the challenges to attracting and retaining young talents in Agribusiness in fulfilling SDG 'Zero Hunger Goals': A UK and West Africa HE perspective (British Academy of Management)
    • Maria Aina (2025) Exploring Impacts of Interventions for Sustainability in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A West Midlands Perspective (Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport:Logistics Research Network))
    • Dabo, A.-A., Mor, R. S., Albatal, M. M., Raji, M. & Maria Aina, (2025) Logistics planning strategies for seasonal traffic management Scientific Journal of Logistics 2025, 21 (2), 167-181
    • Emmanuel Terngu Vanger, Amin Hosseinian-Far, and Maria Aina (2024) Challenges of Implementing the ECOWAS Protocol on Transhumance Across Member States, Agrarian Livelihood Protection, and Ecological Sustainability (Book Chapter : Springer)
    • Maria Aina (2024) Emerging Challenges in the Food Supply Chains - Exploring Causes and Potential solutions for food waste, LRN Greece Forum, April 2024 (Presentation)
    • Maria Aina1 (2024) The impact of food waste (5th Symposium on Circular Economy and Sustainability Chania, Greece 17-19 June, 2024 )
    • Maria Aina (2024) Agri-Business Sustainability in the UK (Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics )
    • Maria Aina,Bridget Irene and Wenjun Xie (2023) User’s Benefit Perceptions and Privacy Concerns for the Personalised Recommendation Service on Taobao: A Privacy Calculus Perspective(Global Conference on Business and Social Sciences (GCBSS) September 2023, Thailand)
    • Bridget Irene, Tammy Mudd, Joan Lockyer, Siona Ndeh, Kemi Chukwuma Nwuba, Okeoghene Enebeli & Maria Aina 'Responsible entrepreneurship in a family business context: Is your child the golden ticket?' The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference (2023) (The Alistair Anderson best paper at ISBE,2023)
    • Maria Aina and Wenjie Yu (2023) Impact of Big Data Analytics on Competitive Advantage (Logistics and Research Network(LRN), September 2023, Edinburgh
    • Maria Aina (2020) Exploring Available Support to Achieving The NetZero Target in the West Midlands - Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute(EBRI),Birmingham
    • Maria Aina (2018) Exploring available Agric-tech for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the Marches Region
    • M. Aina, Y. Dai and D. Petrovic (2011) Analysis of interrelationships between Suppliers configuration and performance within the supply network: A simulation approach," International Conference on Automation and Computing, Huddersfield and IEEE Xplore IEEE
    • Maria Aina, Yang Dai and Dobrila Petrovic (2010) A sustainable supply network model and its configurations. International Conference on Automation and Computing (ICAC), Birmingham
    Additional Information
    • Public Engagement
      • Presentation at the UK  House of Lords (Rural Economy Research Group) on Agri-tech and the Future Rural Workforce, 2025

    • Honours and Awards 

      • Best Paper Award, Family Business Track, ISBE 2023
      • Winner of Alistair Anderson ERD Publication Prize for an ECR, ISBE 2023

    • Knowledge Exchange Projects 

      • UUON Sustainability Summit 2023: Professor Hosseinian Far, A. (Consultant), Aina, M.(Consultant), Dabo, A.-A. (Consultant), Vanger, E. (Consultant) Activity: Further Knowledge Exchange Activity › Industry Engagement › Knowledge Exchange
      • Agri-Tech for Businesses support Project 2019-2020: Providing consultancy for agribusinesses in the West Midlands region
      • Energy, Bioproduct and Sustainability Project 2020-2021: Consultancy for Businesses within and Outside the United Kingdom
      • DEFRA(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and CPRE (Campaign To Protect Rural England) 2009, Hedgerow Project
    • Teaching Activities
      • Honours Research Project
      • Master's Research Project
      • PhD supervision
      • International Logistics and Supply Chain Management

    Modules

    You can contact Dr Maria Aina if you would like to discuss any of the following course modules:

    Contact

    Enquiry