Dr Abdulrahman Mahmoud

Dr. Abdulrahman A. Mahmoud, PhD, FHEA, is a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Business Analytics and Director of Education at the University of Exeter Business School (UEBS). He leads on educational innovation, curriculum transformation, and digital pedagogy across the Operations and Analytics Department. His work sits at the intersection of data analytics, digital transformation, and sustainable operations, focusing on how analytics and AI can drive efficiency, resilience, and responsible business practice.

Before taking on the Director of Education role, Dr. Mahmoud served as Programme Director for the BSc Business Analytics, where he successfully enhanced the programme’s academic quality, employability relevance, student experience and further strengthening academic outcomes. He also led the strategic development of accreditation pathways for analytics programmes at UEBS, aligning them with international standards in data science and professional analytics education.

Dr. Mahmoud has taught and led modules including Operations Analytics, Programming for Business Analytics, and Statistics for Business, integrating contemporary tools such as Python, Tableau, and SQL into data-driven problem solving. His teaching philosophy promotes AI literacy, ethical data use, and agentic thinking -empowering students to combine analytical reasoning with creative and sustainable decision-making.

In addition to his academic leadership, Dr. Mahmoud brings broad industry experience in business analytics and digital strategy, where he has developed enterprise data pipelines, automated reporting systems, and analytics dashboards to monitor key performance indicators such as profitability, customer acquisition, and operational efficiency. He has collaborated with industry partners on digital innovation projects focused on analytics capability-building, performance improvement, and AI integration in business processes.

Dr. Mahmoud has also contributed to international capacity-building projects, including the Digital Empowerment Platform, which seeks to digitize social registers and strengthen digital inclusion for vulnerable populations. His work consistently reflects a commitment to advancing education, innovation, and sustainability through analytics, policy, and technology.

• Business Analytics and Digital Transformation

• Operations and Supply Chain Analytics

• Agentic Artificial Intelligence and Automation

• Sustainable Operations and Embodied Energy

• Curriculum Innovation

Theme 1: Agentic Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Analytics Education
Exploring how agentic AI and automation can transform business analytics workflows, learning environments, and decision-support systems to enable smarter, more adaptive organisations.

Theme 2: Low-Embodied Energy and Sustainable Design Frameworks
Investigating strategies for reducing embodied energy in construction through circular economy principles, local material optimisation, and life cycle design in developing economies.

Theme 3: Analytics-Driven Organisational Transformation
Developing frameworks that help organisations use analytics and digital tools to improve decision-making, optimise operations, and enhance sustainability outcomes.

Theme 4: Advancing Accreditation and Curriculum Standards in Business Analytics
Designing evidence-based models for professional accreditation and curriculum alignment in analytics education, ensuring global relevance, rigour, and employability.