Prof Hakeem Owolabi is a Distinguished Professor in Business and Innovation at the Greater Manchester Business School (GMBS). He holds a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Strategic Project Management from the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol.

He is currently seeking Ph.D. students interested in investigating the social implications of digital technologies (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Blockchain, etc.) on people, society, and organisational outcomes. Please get in touch by email if you are interested.

Academic Profile:
Prof Hakeem’s research domain includes Innovation Management and Strategy, People-Centred Digital Transformation, Technology Adoption and Responsible Use, Sustainable Innovation and Business Model Re-engineering. He has published more than 44 peer-reviewed academic articles in several world-leading and internationally excellent journals, including Information Technology and People, IEEE Transactions in Engineering Management, Risk Analysis, Production Planning and Control, Safety Science, etc.

Prof Hakeem has over 5500 Google Scholar and 3,388 Scopus Citation so far. He is currently the Pioneer Research Centre Director for the “Centre for Digital Innovation and Responsible Adoption (C-DRIA)” at the Greater Manchester Business School (GMBS).

Prof Hakeem has an outstanding track record of working collaboratively with many of UK’s top organisations and Government Departments in key sectors like infrastructure, construction, energy, and IT to conceive and deliver cutting-edge R&D projects. He has won over £3.6million in collaborative R&D grants from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Department Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), including projects like Transport Living Labs, ASPEC, IVISS, and CV-SMART. Prof Hakeem has been a regularly invited keynote speaker at several notable academic and industry events in the UK and Internationally.

Current UKRI Research Grants:
Two R&D grants worth a combined £600k from the UKRI Competition on “African Innovation Collaboration for NetZero Places 2024”:
Agric Supply Chain Resilience Using Blockchain Technology and AI:
Solar Cool System (So-Cool) for urban smallholder farmers’ produce—helping to connect smallholders to bulk buyers to foster inclusivity and reduce hunger. £300k UKRI Grant on African Innovation Collaborations for Net Zero Places [Project Number: 10106720].
New Enterprise Model for Affordable Renewable Energy Access to Households.
Powerbox – Locally made Solar Home System for Affordable Mini Off-grid. £300k UKRI Grant on African Innovation Collaborations for Net Zero Places [Project Number: 10106535].

Recent Publications:
Owolabi, H.A., Oyedele, A.A., Oyedele, L., Alaka, H., Olawale, O., Aju, O., Akanbi, L. and Ganiyu, S. (2024), "Big data innovation and implementation in projects teams: towards a SEM approach to conflict prevention", Information Technology & People, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-06-2019-0286.

Owolabi, H. & Akanbi, L. A., Adenuga, K. I., (2023). Supply Chain Decision-Making Using Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. In Industry 4.0 Technologies: Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chains: Volume 1—Theory, Challenges, and Opportunity (pp. 25-34). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.

Owolabi, H., Juryte, L., & Akanbi, L. (2023). Challenges for the Adoption of Industry 4.0 in the Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chain. In Industry 4.0 Technologies: Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chains: Volume 1—Theory, Challenges, and Opportunity (pp. 175-188). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.