Doctoral Researcher in Information Systems at
Department of Information Systems & Computing (DISC)
Brunel University, London

Research interest

• e-Government
• e-Business
• Inter-Organisational Collaboration in Public / Private Sector
• Social Media Engagement
• Social Media in Unpredicted Situations
• ICTs for Development
• Information Sharing and Integration in Public Sector
• Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)
• Semantic Web Technologies
• Ontologies

Key skills profile

Research

• Experienced in combining scientific and theoretical rigour with practical relevance within a project setting, gained through strong collaboration with public and private organisations.
• Extensive research and teaching experience in innovation adoption, enterprise systems, information and application integration through semantic web technologies, business process reengineering and integration through SAP R/3.
• In-depth knowledge of interagency collaboration, information sharing, and adoption and implementation corporate legacy systems in UK’s public sector gained through conducting several case studies as part of my doctoral research. 
• Experienced in qualitative research in order to conduct interviews, as well as, quantitative research specifically in conducting and analysing survey data.
• In-depth knowledge of the use of social media by individuals and/or organisations. 
• Reasonable research track record gained through publishing and presenting academic papers as book chapter and International Conference’s proceedings.     

Interpersonal and Teamwork

• Ability  to  work  effectively  as  part  of  an  interdisciplinary  team  to  achieve  research  based  outcomes,  with  the  proven  ability  to  work  independently  with  minimal  supervision  in  the  successful completion of work tasks.
• Well-developed  problem  solving  skills  with  demonstrated  ability  to  apply  sound  reasoning  and judgement in the effective resolution of research/work issues.
  

Education

2009 – 2012 (Expected)  
PhD in Information Systems and Computing         
Brunel University, UK
The research aims at evaluating the development, implementation, and adoption of Inter-organisational Systems in order to facilitate information sharing effort in inter-departmental collaboration in UK’s Local Government Authorities.

2008 – 2009                                     
MSc (Merit) Management and Information Systems
The University of Manchester, UK
Modules included: Fundamental of Information Systems, Introducing Information in Organisation, International Management & Business, e-Business, e-Government, Human Resource Management, Organisational Change Strategy

2001 – 2006     
BSc (Hons) Electronic Engineering                         
Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Iran
Main Subject Studied: Technology Management, Electrical Circuits, Electromagnetic, Electrical Instrument, Systems and Signals, Control Systems, Industrial Electronics, Telecommunication, Microprocessors, Pulse Technique.

Research Experience (Academic)

2010 – Present: Research Assistance             
Department of IS & Computing, Brunel University

• Conducting research on inter-organisational systems adoption in UK public sector.
• Conducting several interviews with more than 20 Heads of department in Local Authorities.
• Investigating the use of semantic web technologies/ontology standards in in Local Authorities.
• Developing and analysing several survey questionnaires.
• Analysing qualitative and quantitative data using difference methodologies such as AHP and SPSS.
• Attending several projects meetings with the Association for ICT Professionals in the Public Sector (Socitm) in order to discuss the results and practicality of the developed conceptual framework. 
• Attending and presenting several papers in international conferences.
• Appointed reviewer for several journal and conference papers.   

2010 – Present: Research Assistance             
Department of IS & Computing, Brunel University

• Co-ordinator of a research project on the Use of Social Media by UK’s Local Authorities.
• Capturing, analysing, and presenting the data posted during the 2011 UK riots.
• Investigating the use of Twitter as an emergency communication tool from the perspective of local authorities, through conducting several interviewees by the officials.
• Presenting the findings and results in several workshop and conferences.

2010 – 2011: Research Assistance              
Health Economic Research Group, Brunel University

• Co-ordinator of a research project on Health Information System
• Reviewing more than 1000 research papers previously published in A* journals in the field in order to develop an extensive data-sets of common citations. 

Academic activities

Teaching Assistant:

• Business Modelling, Postgraduate level, 2009 - Present
  
• Semantic Integration Frameworks, Postgraduate level, 2009 - Present
• e-Commerce, Undergraduate level 2010/11
• Social Web, Undergraduate level, 2012 - Present
• Software Project Management, Undergraduate level, 2011 - Present

Reviewer of:

• The 11th Conference on Digital Government Research- Mexico 2010
• The 19th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS)- Helsinki 2011
• The 8th European, Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Conference (EMCIS) on Information Systems - Athens 2011
• Data Base for Advances in Information Systems; Special Issue on Moving Towards Maturity: Challenges to Successful e-Government Implementation and Diffusion - 2011

honours & awards

• Received the Outstanding Paper Award for the most innovative research contribution at the 11th International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) eGOV and ePart conferences in Norway in 2012.
• Received a fully-funded grant from “Accenture” to attend and present a research paper in the 6th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGov2012, New York, United State.
• Nominated for the 2012 Student Employee of the Year Award by the UK’s National Association of Student Employment Services.  

Publications

• Bigdeli, A.Z., Kamal, M.M., and de Cesare, S. (2012) Information Sharing in Inter-departmental Collaboration: A Conceptual Framework for Local Government Authorities. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGov2012, New York, United State.
  

• Bigdeli, A.Z., Kamal, M.M., and de Cesare, S. (2012) Electronic Information Sharing in Local Government: The Decision Making Process. Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Information Systems - ECIS'12, Barcelona, Spain.

• Panagiotopoulos, P., Bigdeli, A.Z., and Sams, S., (2012) 5 Days in August – How London Local Authorities Used Twitter during the 2011 Riots, The 4th IFIP 8.5 International Conference on eGovernment (eGov), Norway. [Outstanding Paper Award for the Most Innovative Research Contribution/Case Study]

• Kamal, M., Bigdeli, A.Z., (2012) Shared Services: Lessons From Private Sector for Public Sector Domain, The 4th IFIP 8.5 International Conference on eGovernment (eGov), Norway.

• Bigdeli, A.Z., Kamal, M.M., and de Cesare, S. (2011). Interorganisational Electronic Information Sharing in Local G2G Settings: A Socio-Technical Issue. Proceedings of the 19th European Conference on Information Systems - ECIS'11, Helsinki, Finland.

• Bigdeli, A.Z., de Cesare, S. (2011) Barriers to e-Government Service Delivery in Developing Countries: The Case of Iran. In: Carugati, A., and Rossignoli, C. eds. Emerging Themes in Information Systems and Organisational Studies: Springer, 307-320

• Bigdeli, A.Z. (2011) Conceptual Model For Participation in Inter-Organisational Electronic Information Sharing (IEIS) in E-Government Environment, PhD Colloquium, IFIP e-Government Conference, Delft, The Netherlands

• Bigdeli, A.Z. (2011) To Share or Not to Share: Conceptual Framework For Electronic Information Sharing in Local Authorities, Information Management and Knowledge Sharing (IMKS) Forum, Kingston University, London, July 2011. 

• Bigdeli, A.Z., Kamal, M., and de Cesare, S., Electronic Information Sharing in Local Government Authorities: Factors Influencing the Decision Making Process. International Journal of Information Management. [Under Review]

• Panagiotopoulos, P., Bigdeli, A.Z., and Sams, S., Social Media in Emergency Communications: How Local Authorities used Twitter during 2011 Riots in England, Government Information Quarterly (GIQ). [Under Review]
  

Work Experience (industry)

2010 – 2012:
Residences Senior Student Mentor                    
Brunel University, UK 

• Co-ordinating and managing 12 junior mentors in order to assist around 4500 students settling into university life.
• Conflict resolution, support and advice new resident students, coordinate team meetings, arrange rotas, manage and support the team, liaise with support staff
• Coordinating welfare events, and promote and encourage a sense of community within the University.

2003 – 2008:
ICT Project Co-ordinator
Rah-Negar Co. Tehran, Iran 

• Working closely with the clients to understand the business needs.
• Coordinator of more than 25 IT project for public and private firms.
• Managing day-to-day operational aspects of the projects.
• Main bridge co-ordinator between the hardware and software teams.
• Preparing projects initiation documentation.
• Responsible for demonstrating the projects for the customers prior to the final implementation.

2000 – 2008:
Web Designer,
BAM System Co. Tehran, Iran 

• On-going design and maintenance of new and existing websites.
• Team Leader for designing and developing more than 20 web sites.
• Liaising closely with a customer or client at the design stage.
• Enhancing the look, functionality and appearance of a website