Rate My Professor Saskia De Klerk

Dr Saskia de Klerk is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Higher Degree Research Coordinator in the School of Business at UNSW Canberra. Her research specializations include innovation, networking, social capital, entrepreneurship, and business management research. She undertakes main lecturing duties at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in international business, business planning, and critical business skills. Based in Room 312, Building 27 at UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy, she contributes to the academic community through her role in higher degree research coordination.

Throughout her career, Dr de Klerk has engaged in several key collaborative projects. These encompass research on innovation and accelerators in the Australian startup ecosystem with colleagues at UNSW Kensington and the University of Canterbury. She participated in a project on women's management and networking skills development with the University of Queensland. Additionally, she collaborated on investigating the development of managerial and entrepreneurial skills in the creative industries with North-West University, the Australian National University, and street theatre initiatives. From 2011 to 2018, she served as Senior Lecturer and Higher Degree Research Coordinator at UNSW Canberra. She holds a PhD, MCom, BCom (Hons), and BComm from Potchefstroom University, now North-West University in South Africa.

Dr de Klerk maintains an extensive publication record, with book chapters and journal articles spanning 1994 to 2025. Recent book chapters include 'Ecology, complex systems, and sociology: Complementary approaches to entrepreneurial ecosystem research' in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Cities and Regions: Emergence, Evolution and Future (2024) and 'Women Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs in Iran: Navigating a Turbulent Era' in Women's Entrepreneurship in a Turbulent Era (2024). Key journal articles feature 'Digital uptake of small peripheral Australian businesses: facilitating and inhibiting factors' in Management Decision (2025) and '"The theatre was dark": exploring regional Australian theatre’s resilient response to COVID-19' in Regional Studies (2024).