Pai is an early-career researcher who was awarded a PhD in Management (Entrepreneurship) from the University of Nottingham in 2023. In the same year, she joined the HGI team as an assistant professor. Her research interests include inclusive entrepreneurship education, gender, and entrepreneurship within the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) sectors. She is also interested in understanding the entrepreneurial activities of other underexplored groups of innovators, such as technicians and technology student entrepreneurs.
She said: “HGI is a thought leader in inclusive entrepreneurship with a mission to support entrepreneurial activities among marginalised groups of people through inclusive entrepreneurship education. This mission aligns very closely with my personal beliefs and research interests. I would like to become part of their mission to deliver ‘entrepreneurship education for all’ through an inclusive approach to enhance equality, diversity, and inclusion in the entrepreneurship world.”
Sahattaya is a course convener for the Entrepreneurship Consultancy Challenge, a compulsory module for the MSc Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management. In this module, groups of students work with social enterprises, charities, start-ups, and companies providing consultancy services to help solve their business problems. She is also an academic mentor supporting the impact-based entrepreneurship programmes at HGI – Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) and Ingenuity Impact.
She said: “The entrepreneurial ecosystem at HGI and Nottingham University Business School allows me to bridge my teaching and practice. I have endless opportunities to create impact through my teaching and research, which is not limited only to the classroom but also to wider stakeholders such as local and international entrepreneurs, students outside of the Business School, scientists, technicians, and enterprise educators.”