Taha Chaiechi

Summary of Background

Associate Professor, Dr Taha Chaiechi, is an academic leader and researcher with extensive experience in research, teaching, and administration.

Dr. Chaiechi recently completed her tenure as Academic Head of Economics and Marketing, having served in this role from 2014 to 2019 and again from 2022 to January 2025. She continues to contribute to James Cook University as Head of the Centre for International Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA) and chairs two key CBLG committees: Sustainability & Societal Impact and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action (IDEA). Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of the JCU Open-Access Journal of Resilient Economies (JRE), further cementing her thought leadership in economic research.

Since joining James Cook University in July 2009, Dr. Chaiechi has played a pivotal role in academic leadership, successfully implementing positive institutional changes. She has served in multiple senior roles, including Acting Dean, Acting Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching, Expert Member (Research and Scholarship) at the Academic Board, and Course Coordinator for the Master of Economics. Her leadership extends to research integrity, where she serves as the college’s Research Integrity Advisor and the college Open_access Champion.

Beyond JCU, Dr. Chaiechi has contributed to national research initiatives, serving as a detailed assessor for the National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants (NISDRG), Future Fellowship Programs, and the National Competitive Grants Program (NCGP) for the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Her expertise lies in the systematic modeling of dynamic relationships between economic, environmental, and social variables. She has extensive experience in quantifying and valuing environmental assets and services. Her research is driven by a holistic approach to sustainability, particularly the economic impacts of climate change and natural disasters on sectors such as health, tourism, energy, and urban development. She aligns her research with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is dedicated to advancing methodologies in sustainability analysis.

Dr. Chaiechi’s multidisciplinary research has led to numerous collaborative projects and consultancies exceeding $1.2 million since 2011.

Read my Statement of Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching

Awards and Honours

Current Initiatives:

1. Editor-in-Chief of newly launched Journal of Resilient Economies (JRE)
2. Edited "Community Empowerment, Sustainable Cities, and Transformative Economies" with Springer Nature
3. Chair, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) @ CBLG
4. Chair, Sustainabilty and Societal Impact Committee @CBLG
5. General Chair for BEMAS Conferences in 2021 , 2022, and 2024
   
6. Lead a flagship about Climate-Resilient Economies and Community Empowerment
7. Edited the Research Training Workshop Series within CITBA
8. Edited Business, Industry, and Trade in the Tropics with Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
9. Edited "Economic Effects of Natural Disasters" with Elsevier.
10. Led a UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus in Cairns 2019
11. Led a research team on ON-Prime Innovation Program

In her approach to Research and Engagement, Taha is committed to the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. Particularly, Taha focuses on SDG 8, SDG11, SDG 13 and SDG 17.

Media Releases:

• September 2024 Keynote Speaker, TAFE South Australia, LEAD Virtual Sumit
• June 2024 Townsville Bulleting, Saturday 1 June, The true value of nursing,
• May 2024 JCU Media Release, The economic power of care
• August 2022 Interview with BD mag Is the carbon border adjustment mechanism the key to unlocking the north?
• June 2023: My accepted contribution on Greenwashing to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee (submission 11)
• June 2023: Impact Blog for Emerald Publishing Creating safe and inclusive cities for an ageing population
• August 2022 : Interview with BD mag Is the carbon border adjustment mechanism the key to unlocking the north?
• 2022 : our research is cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2022 report
• January 2022 : Interview with Faculti Urban development of two tropical cities
• July 2021 : JCU Media Release Local Responses to Big Economic Challenges
• February 2021: Interview, Urban Design and Economic growth
• November 2020: Public Webinar on How to Build a Resilient Economy
• September 2020: COVID Economy-Part 2
• September 2020: The Incomplete Economy
• April 2020: COVID Economy
• October 2019: Millenials & Avocados
• August 2019: Planning on Future Sustainable Cities
• Read my 2019 articles in The Conversation
• 2018 Sustainability Communique- facebook and Twitter.
• Watch June Issue here
• Watch July Issue here
• Watch August Issue here
• Watch September Issue here
• Watch October Issue here
• June 2015 Acknowledged contribution to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Submission 61, p. 2. 42
• May 2014 Invited to speak at the “Environmental Research Workshop: Biodiversity and social-economic valuation” ,Tom Farrell Institute for the Environment
• October 2014 Invited speaker on Economics- 101 at the “Professional Development Workshop” - Suncorp Bank Group
• December 2013 Interview with Dukascopy- Swiss Financial Television (on sentiment index)

Textbooks & Textbook Reviews

. Custom publication, BU1003 Economics for Sustainable Business (compiled by Taha Chaiechi), by McEachern et al, published by Cengage Higher Education (1st and 2nd eds)

. Custom publication, BU1007 Business Data Analysis and Interpretation (compiled by Taha Chaiechi), by McEachern et al, published by Cengage Higher Education (1st ed)

· Textbook Review - Students resources and workshops (Economics for Today, 4th Asia Pacific edition - Published by Cengage Ltd.) (2012 and 2013)

· Textbook Review (2012) and (2013)- invited to review three chapters of Principals of Economics 5th and 6th Edition- Published by Cengage Ltd.)

· Textbook Adaptation (2013) - Produced lecture presentations materials (Principals of Economics By Stiglitz and Walsh- Published by Wiley and Sons