Sunita Gautam has certainly been busy over the last four years, balancing her PhD research, tutoring for the UC Business School, parenting two children and serving her community as the Community Board Member for the Central Ward.
On Wednesday 14 April Gautam will graduate with a PhD that focuses on self-employment as a strategy for Indian immigrants鈥 settlement in New Zealand.
鈥淚t is a dream come true,鈥 Gautam says about her upcoming graduation. 鈥淚 come from a background where education was not a priority for girls. I strongly believe that education is crucial and it plays a huge role in empowering wahine, and to change my destiny, I wanted to gain the world鈥檚 highest degree.鈥
Originally from Shaktinagar, a small town in India, Gautam moved to Christchurch nearly twenty years ago. She and her husband have made 艑tautahi their home, with Gautam giving back to the community through her work as a board member, Justice of the Peace and volunteer business mentor.
鈥淢y vision is to ensure Christchurch Central is a place where all community members feel safe, valued and have a sense of belonging. My PhD journey has changed the way I look at the world around me and has given me the perspective of a researcher who seeks various ways to solve problems. These insights allow me to communicate, relate and facilitate with the people and business communities of my ward.鈥
鈥淢oreover, my PhD journey has taught me that as a researcher, my work is important and could make an impact in the real world.鈥
Researching how entrepreneurial theories influence Indian migrants鈥 rationale to start their own businesses and how this impacts communities, Gautam studied under the supervision of Associate Professors听Michaela Balzarova听补苍诲听Herb de Vries听in UC鈥檚听Department of Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
鈥淭hey have not only guided me through the research but have polished the researcher in me. Misha鈥檚 care for her students goes beyond 鈥 she not only supported me to develop critical thinking, but also supported me emotionally. Misha, Herb and the community at UC have made a huge difference in fulfilling my dream of completing my PhD,鈥 Gautam says.
Looking ahead, Gautam is committed to continuing her research and making positive changes in the central ward, continuing to serve her community.
鈥淢y aspiration is to put New 九州影院based research and the 九州影院 on the world stage. I will continue to work in the research sector to achieve this goal, exploring and investigating social issues to find solutions that can be used to develop evidence-based policies for Aotearoa.鈥
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