DrRayan Merkbawi

Dr Rayan Merkbawi is a Senior Lecturer and Subject Coordinator at UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney. Her work brings together organisation studies, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social impact. She focuses in particular on legitimacy, power and the social role of business and universities.

Her research spans CSR, media studies, higher education and women's entrepreneurship. She draws on theories of institutional legitimacy and academic capitalism to examine how CSR works as a strategic rather than neutral practice, and how universities respond to neoliberal and populist pressures. A long-term stream of her work looks at gender, work and entrepreneurship.

Rayan currently coordinates Business and Social Impact, a large first-year undergraduate subject, where she leads a team of tutors. Her teaching encourages students to think critically about CSR as a strategic rather than neutral practice. It connects students with contemporary issues of social responsibility and decent work through industry partnerships, case-based simulations and conversations with practitioners. She is committed to inclusive practice for diverse student cohorts, and was nominated for the UTS Medal for integrated teaching and learning. She also supervises doctoral research and serves on the university's ethics panel. In addition, she represents UTS in low-SES communities, working with schools in South Western Sydney and co-hosting a large seminar with industry partners on student career aspiration and development.

Rayan holds a PhD (Business) from the University of Technology Sydney. Her thesis examined political CSR and business ethics in the context of confessional democracy. Her research has been funded by the UTS Social Impact Grant, the UTS Centre for Social Justice, UTS Business School, the University of Sharjah and BRG. She translates her research for public audiences through media engagement and as a TEDx speaker. Her talk, "The Digital Evolution: Bridging Technology with Human Values," explored how digital platforms can amplify social movements and youth voices.