Dr Zhaotao Tan

Zhaotao currently involves in numbers of teaching activities including: module and program design and development; delivering lectures and tutorials at both under and postgraduate levels; under/postgraduate supervision.

With Business and Economics as major areas of study and teaching, Zhaotao graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Enterprise at Harper Adams University (UK) in 2006 and followed by a Master Degree in International Economics and Public Policy at Cardiff University (UK) in 2008. Then, Zhaotao joined Coventry University (UK) for PhD study and was awarded Doctor of Philosophy in 2013. The research is carried out within the context of International Business and analyses four main themes – globalisation, foreign direct investment (FDI), role of government, and industrial clusters. The aim is to explore how these elements were brought together to achieve a country’s industrial development and modernisation. As part of the PhD, Zhaotao carried out a five-month fieldwork in China by conducting semi-structured interviews with provincial government officials and business executives, and visited various firms and academic institutions (e.g. Beijing Automobile Corporation Ltd, Beijing University of Technology, and Tsinghua University). The fieldwork provided an opportunity to reinforce his learning and broaden his commercial and industrial networks. In addition, during 18 years of living, studying, and working in the UK, Zhaotao have established a close connection with various scholars from both UK (e.g. Coventry University, University of Nottingham) and Chinese Universities (e.g. Central South University, Changzhou University, Chongqing University of Education, Beijing International Studies University, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, and Zhejiang University Ningbo Institute of Technology), from whom Zhaotao have benefited enormously in terms of academic experience and discipline.