Dr Senika Dewnarain

• Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, March 2023
• PhD in Hospitality Marketing and Management, Open University of Mauritius, 2020
• MSc in Marketing Communication, University of Birmingham, 2013
• BSc (Hons) in International Hotel and Tourism Management, University of Ulster, 2010
• BA Hotel and Events Management, HTMi Switzerland, 2010
• Diploma in Train the Trainers, Management Development Programme, HTMi, 2007
• TAE, Certificate 4 in Teaching and Assessment from Challenger Institute of Technology, 2014 (updated in 2019)

Dr Senika Dewnarain studied, lived and worked in Switzerland, England and Mauritius prior to joining University of Birmingham in Dubai. Her main research areas are social customer relationship management, customer engagement, social media marketing, branding and the hospitality industry. Her work mainly explores the impact of social media on multiple stakeholders in order to create value for hospitality businesses. She also has a keen interest on how service businesses can establish structural bonds with clients to create a win-win situation and the formulation of online marketing strategies. 

Before moving to Dubai, Senika worked as a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Tourism Management for almost a decade. During this time Senika has taught on diverse modules at both the Postgraduate and Undergraduate level. She has been bestowed upon the Teaching Excellence award twice and she has also been commended for her dedication to teaching and learning and for promoting a growth mindset on several occasions. Senika’s teaching philosophy revolves around active and experiential learning. She has attended several workshops, conferences, seminars both at the local and international level in order to keep current with the latest developments in pedagogical research and in discipline-related knowledge alike. Over the years, she has been actively involved in curriculum design and the launch of new courses. She was previously a coach for the HSBC case study competition for Curtin Mauritius and she also served as part of the Jury panel at the local level, in 2017. She equally served as a member of the Jury Panel to assess industry projects for the largest Hotel Group in Mauritius, in March 2022.

In 2020, Senika was awarded a PhD in Hospitality Marketing and Management from the Open University of Mauritius under the tutelage of Professor Haywantee Ramkissoon, and Professor Felix Mavondo from Monash University, Australia. Prior to that, Senika received an International Postgraduate scholarship to study Marketing Communications at University of Birmingham, in Edgbaston, England. For her first degree, Senika has obtained a first class honours in International Hotel and Tourism Management from the University of Ulster. She has a double degree which includes a BA in Hotel and Events Management from HTMi, Switzerland.

Moreover, she is a qualified Trainer in the Hospitality and Tourism Management field, being the holder of a Diploma in Train the Trainer Management development programme from HTMi, Switzerland. Last but not the least, Senika also holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from TAFE Challenger Institute of Technology, Australia.

• Marketing and New Technology
• Consumer Insights
• Branding in the Digital Age
• Extended Essays

- Customer engagement
- Customer relationship management
- Social media marketing
- Word of mouth marketing
- Branding
- Hospitality/Service industry

Research interests

• Customer engagement
• Social customer relationship management
• Positive word of mouth branding
• Social media marketing
• Gender and SMEs
• Web 3.0
• Service industry
• Hospitality industry

• Corporate Trainer in Marketing and Managing in the Digital Era (2016 -2021)
• Coach for the HSBC Case Study Competition at the local level (2017-2021)
• Member of Scientific Committee of the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) CAUTHE 2023.33^rd edition, 7-9 Feb 2023 in Perth, Australia. 
• Part of the editorial review board for the Journal of Global Scholars of the Academy of Marketing Science (2022-ongoing).