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About Deanna
Deanna Grant-Smith is Professor of Management and Associate Dean, Research in the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She earned her PhD from Griffith University, Master of Business (Communication Studies) from Queensland University of Technology, Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from Central Queensland University, Graduate Certificate in Management Communication from NSW TAFE, Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice from Queensland University of Technology, Bachelor of Science (Australian Environmental Studies) from Griffith University, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from Brisbane North Institute of TAFE. A critical qualitative researcher with over 20 years of experience in government and academic contexts, she previously served as Deputy Director of the QUT Centre for Decent Work and Industry from 2019 to 2024 and holds ongoing adjunct professorships there and at the QUT Centre for Justice.
Her research specializations encompass labour and responsible management practices, including the social, economic, and cultural inequalities of work, the exploitation risks in unpaid and unwaged labour such as internships and multi-level marketing, work-integrated learning, education-to-employment transitions, and workers' rights. She investigates institutional and policy responses to enhance worker wellbeing, sustainable governance, infrastructural justice, participatory approaches to disaster preparedness and climate adaptation, gender-sensitive infrastructure and mobility policies, and grassroots practices for organizational and policy change. Grant-Smith has secured research funding from bodies including the Australian Collaborative Education Network, Ecstra Foundation, Financial Basics Foundation, iMove CRC, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, RACE 2030 CRC, Services to Youth Council, and World Association for Cooperative Education. She contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Among her honors are the 2017 Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, Senior Fellow and Associate Fellow (Indigenous Knowledges) of the Higher Education Academy, 2020 World Access to Higher Education Day Champion for Change, 2020 QUT Carumba Institute Embedding Indigenous Perspectives Outstanding Proposal Award, 2016 Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Early Career Researcher Award, and multiple Vice-Chancellor's Performance Awards from QUT. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of the QUT Centre for Justice Briefing Papers series and Advisory Board Member for the Research Unit for Law and Education at the University of Adelaide. She welcomes supervision of Honours, MPhil, and PhD students in aligned critical qualitative or mixed-methods research.