Dr Swati Virmani

Swati is a Senior Lecturer in Economics and Deputy Director of the Doctor of Business Administration Programme at De Montfort University. She is an Associate at the Economics Network and was recently awarded the title of University Teacher Fellow. She has a widespread experience in developing curricula at undergraduate, postgraduate, and enterprise levels. She has spearheaded the integration of new topics such as Economics of AI into core modules, ensuring students graduate with relevant and contemporary knowledge. 

Her research aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, focusing on AI and its impact on professions, innovation and inequality, building inclusive smart cities, and digital good. As a member of the CIPR’s AI in PR (Public Relations) panel, Swati has worked on three major research reports, analysing the use of AI tools in PR, assessing the profession's preparedness for an AI future, and emphasising the practical support required for upskilling. Her recent work also includes the public engagement project funded by the Alan Turing Institute (UK) to work with people from different backgrounds and underrepresented groups to expand public knowledge and unbiased information around data science and AI.

Institute of Applied Economics and Social Value

Pedagogic research  -

• Creative Storytelling in Economics with Lego & AI – Economics Network Case Study
• Public Relations in the Age of AI – CIPR Engage Podcast
• Beyond technology: The importance of Continuous Professional Development – JISC Podcast
• CPD isn’t just good business sense, it’s crucial to staff wellbeing – JISC Member Story
• ‘Reflecting to Rebuild and Strengthen Professional Development: A Collection of post-online Conversations’ – Monograph
• Compatibility in Lockdown (use of ‘Dear Data’) – Association for Learning Technology Blog
• What to keep and what to leave? Lessons to rethink your pedagogy – Economics Network Case Study
• Academics share experiences of navigating the 'new normal' in HE – DMU News Feed
• Engaging Students in an Online Economics Community – Economics Network Case Study – Virtual Symposium on Online Teaching

Research Artciles & Publications  - 

2023    ‘Humans needed, more than ever – An analysis of the use of AI in public relations and the impact on public relations work’ – Report for Chartered Institute of Public Relations (with A Gregory, J Valin)

2021    ‘The AI and Big Data Readiness Report: Assessing the Public Relations Profession’s Preparedness for an AI Future’. Chartered Institute of Public Relations: London (with A Gregory). Available here

2020  ‘Performance and Efficiency in Indian Universities’, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2020.100834 (with G Johnes, J Johnes).

2020 ‘The Economic Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic for Leicester’. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3622981 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3622981. (with E Cartwright, T A Luong and J Payne)

2020 'The Effects of AI on the Professions'. Chartered Institute of Public Relations: London (with A Gregory). Available here.

2019  ‘Chief executive pay in UK higher education: the role of university performance’.  Annals of Operations Research, 1-30 (with J Johnes) [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-019-03275-2].

2019  ‘Are Technology Transfers Skill Biased?’ The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 62(2), pp. 239-263.

2019  ‘The efficiency of private and public schools in urban and rural areas: moving beyond the development goals’. International Transactions in Operational Research, 13(5), e12678 (with G Johnes) [https://doi.org/10.1111/itor.12658].

• Human-Centric AI
• Digital Good
• Inclusive Smart Cities
• Innovative Pedagogy

• Economics of AI
• Emerging Markets & International Economy
• Financial Economics

PhD Economics – University of Manchester, UK (2014)

MA Economics – Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India (2009)

BA (Hons) Economics – Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, India (2007)

Module Leader and Lecturer:  3rd Year (Digital Economy & AI); 3^rd Year (Economics of Financial Markets & Central Bank); MSc (Block module – Contemporary Topics in Global Economics)

Programme Leader: MSc Property Management & Investment (Corporate Development Programme)

Associate (appointed) – The Economics Network

Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy

Awards & Nominations:

• Awarded University Teacher Fellowship  - 2023 
• Nominated for the Student Choice Teaching Awards 2023
• Awarded the 2021 'Best New Lecturer Award' by the Economics Network.
• Nominated for the Business & Law Faculty’s 2021 TaLEnt (Teaching & Learning Enhancement) Award for ‘Excellence in Pedagogic Innovation’.
• Awarded the 2020 Business & Law Faculty’s ‘Rising Star’ award.

AI in PR Panel Member – Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)

Associate Editor for International Journal of Organizational Analysis

Association for Learning Technology (ALT) – CMALT (minor revision)

Member of Women in Artificial Intelligence UK

Certification - Data Science and AI Educators' Programme, The Alan Turing Institute (2023)

LEGO® Serious Play® Facilitator

Project Lead  - Humane AI and Digital Good  - In Indonesia, where approximately 80% of teenagers engage with internet daily, prevalence of internet gaming disorder poses a significant societal challenge, with an estimated rate of 10.15% (Siste et al., 2021). This causes a major mental health problem for teenagers, compounded by substantial barriers to mental healthcare, including pervasive social stigma, scarcity of healthcare professionals, and prevailing beliefs in spiritual causes for mental ill-health. Our research proposes co-producing a culturally sensitive solution, leveraging ChatGPT’s capabilities, to ensure AI-assisted intervention is aligned with the needs of Indonesian teenagers and young adults aged 16-26. We aim to inform policy to promote empathetic, ethical, accessible and regulated use of AI for promoting mental healthcare. With the help of local student community, we will co-create a proof-of-concept customised GPT to serve as a self-help tool for identifying primary well-being issues. 

Project Lead – Academic Innovation Project – ‘Enhance your subject specialism by embracing AI creatively’. Core of the project – highlight the importance of pedagogy-first approach. This project acknowledges that educators need to maintain a strong connection to their subject specialisms while incorporating AI. We follow a multi-model approach to escalate our teaching practices around the current shift towards AI in education. Frameworks that will form the foundation of this project will include – TPACK, UDL (learners’ variability), Backward Design principles, Carpentries material. The latter is specific to pedagogical resources looking at skills relating to data science and AI, takes an applied approach (use of personification, cognitive load, concept mapping, chunking, T-shaped competencies) to solving specific problems and providing hand-on practice. This project will incorporate a co-creation approach with inputs from colleagues across different faculties.

Pedagogic presentations -

• February 2024 - Invited speaker at the University of Birmingham’s Economics Education Seminar, talk titled - Don’t Erase, Elevate Your ‘Signature’ Style with AI
• July 2023 - Presented at the Playful Learning Conference, workshop titled – Building Stories with Bricks: A Playful Learning Workshop on Storytelling with LSP
• June 2023 - Invited speaker at the UK AI Summit, session titled – ‘ChatGPT Focus: Creating Educational Standards and Work Opportunities for Minorities’
• April 2023 - Delivered CAITE Seminar on ‘Applying your ‘style’ pedagogy’
• November 2022 - Invited speaker at the Warwick University Teaching & Learning Seminar Series, talk titled – ‘Your Style Pedagogy’
• March 2022 - Invited speaker at the University of Manchester School of Social Sciences Teaching & Learning Seminar, talk titled – ‘Rethinking Your Pedagogy’

Presentations/ Invited Seminar on Teaching Practice - 

• February 2024 - Presented at the DMU Teaching & Learning Conference, talk titled – ‘The role of pedagogy in harnessing the full potential of AI’
• February 2024 - Delivered a session on effective use of Generative AI in designing and delivering economics teaching.
• October 2023 - Delivered the Economics Network’s Graduate Teaching Assistant training workshop, University of Nottingham.
• July 2023 - Presented at the Staffordshire University Teaching & Leaning Enhancement Conference on ‘How to prepare learners for an AI-powered future’
• May 2023 - Panel Discussion on AI and the future of assessment in HE at the Centre for Academic Innovation and Teaching Excellence (CAITE) ‘Art of the Possible Mini Conference’
• November 2022 - Invited and Delivered a seminar at the Staffordshire University ‘Teaching Innovation & Learning Enhancement’ Hub Webinar on varied form of pedagogical practice and curriculum designing

• March 2022 - Invited and Delivered masterclass to Graduate Teaching Assistants at University of Manchester (School of Social Sciences) on enhancing teaching practices and delivering effective student learning

Research presentations –

• October 2023 - Delivered the ‘Career World’ session for Global Alliance Public Relations ‘Student and Young Practitioner Month’ (Africa & Europe)
• September 2023 - Presented at the Report (Humans needed, more than ever) launch – CIPR International’s Annual General Meeting
• September 2021 - Attended the Developments in Economics Education Conference, Organised by the Economics Network, UK (1-3 September)
• January 2020 - Report launch seminar at the Alan Turing Institute for CIPR research on ‘The Effects of Artificial Intelligence on the Professions: A Literature Repository’

2020    ‘Towards a sustainable framework for the management of Transnational education TNE’ – Lawrence D’Souza

2021    ‘Customer experience in the era of Artificial Intelligence’ – Adib Rachkidi

2022    ‘The growing need for medical entrepreneurship: Should the Nigerian Medical Curriculum be re-designed to include Entrepreneurship Education?’ – Dr (MD) Oni Folake

2023    ‘Increasing Diversity within the Public Relations and Communications industry’ – Caroline Spence

2022 - Co-Investigator – ‘Engaging the Community in Designing a Smart City’ (External funding by the Alan Turing Institute).

2021 - Co-Investigator – ‘Measuring the impact of Medicspot GP consultations’, funded by the Willows Medical Centre, Leicester.

2023-24 - Project Lead – Academic Innovation Project (De Montfort University) – ‘Enhance your subject specialism by embracing AI creatively’.

2023 - Co-Investigator – DMU HEIF Funding – work with stakeholders (East Midlands Chambers of Commerce, Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, Leicester City Council) to investigate how users interact with data tools and draw correct inferences.

2020 - Co-Investigator - 'Developing and Introducing Digital Technology through IAESV Behavioural Economics lab using O-Tree and KAHOOT', faculty level pedagogical innovation funding.

2019 - Principal Investigator - 'Exploring the Impact of Lecture Capture', funded by the Institute of Applied Economics & Social Value.