Dr Akash Puranik
PhD, BBA, MBA, PGCE, MRES

Deputy Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange

School of Business, Law and Society

akash.puranik@solent.ac.uk

Biography

Akash is Deputy Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange and a Senior Lecturer in Business and Management within the School of Business, Law and Society. He provides strategic leadership for research and knowledge exchange activity, with a focus on practice‑led, challenge‑focused research and partnership development.

An ethnographer by training, Akash’s doctoral research examined how informal, non‑contractual collaborations oriented towards social good are organised in practice. His ongoing scholarship explores ethical decision‑making in collaborative work, methodological reflexivity and “messy” qualitative research practices, and the enactment of relational pedagogies in digital learning spaces.

Before joining academia full‑time, Akash worked for over five years in hospitality and service management in the UK, USA, and India - experience he continues to draw upon in applied teaching and external engagement. He holds a PhD and MRes from The Open University, a PGCE from the University of Westminster, and an MBA from the University of Wales. Akash is a Fellow of Advance HE.

Pure profile

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Further information

Akash did his bachelor's degree in management in hospitality and worked in hospitality and the service industry for over five years before joining academia.

Akash has taught across undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA, and degree apprenticeship provision within UK higher education. At Solent, he leads and supervises research‑intensive modules including Final Major Project and Research Methods (postgraduate and apprenticeships) and teaches Strategic Management at undergraduate level.

Prior to and alongside his role at Solent, Akash designed and delivered modules for MBA and business programmes at the University of Wales, Glyndŵr University, Arden University, and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. His teaching experience spans strategy, marketing, business environment, consultancy skills, teamwork and communication, research methods, and community engagement, delivered across face‑to‑face, blended, and fully online formats.

Puranik, A. & Gibbs, R. (2026 forthcoming). Strategic Partnership Management. Routledge (final manuscript submitted).

Puranik, A. & Scullion, R. (2025). Online lecturer: a lonely performer – how relational pedagogies are (re)enacted in digital spaces. Journal of Organizational Ethnography

Puranik, A. (2021). Exploring informal collaborations: Organising for social good beyond formal structures. Doctoral thesis, The Open University.

Cooper, M. & Puranik, A. (2014). The elements driving higher education students’ choice of institution. The International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 20(3), 1–12.

Select conference publications:

(2023) Online lecturer: a lonely performer, International Critical Management Studies Conference, Nottingham.

(2021) The human work of collaboration, International Symposium on Process Organization Studies.

(2021) Theory‑building through a processual structurationist perspective, First Colloquium on Philosophy and Organization Studies.

(2019) (Dis)ordering within and through a chaotic method, Annual Ethnography Symposium, Portsmouth – Best Paper Presentation.

(2019) Making sense of mess, International Critical Management Studies Conference, Milton Keynes.

(2018) Matter(s) of access, International Symposium on Process Organization Studies.

(2017) Conceptualising informal “good for community” collaborations, International Symposium on Process Organization Studies.

(2017) Collaborating informally to create social value, Voluntary Sector Studies Network Conference.

(2016) Social capital within collaborative charitable events, British Academy of Management Conference.

Taught courses

MBA Global Master of Business Administration

Add value to your organisation with a graduate MBA from Solent. Develop a deeper understanding of business and the challenges facing today's global economy.

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MSc Digital Marketing

This exciting, challenging, practice-orientated course will develop your strategic and creative skills, equipping you for a dynamic career in or related to the rapidly expanding digital marketing sector.

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MBA Global Master of Business Administration (HRM)

Develop strategic HR skills, global business insight, and leadership for today’s dynamic workplace to advance your management career.

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MBA Global Master of Business Administration

Add value to your organisation with a graduate MBA from Solent. Develop a deeper understanding of business and the challenges facing today's global economy.

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MSc Logistics Management

Build the knowledge, skills and confidence to develop expertise across key areas of operations management, logistics and supply chain strategies within a global risk context.

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