Mirela Xheneti joined the University of Sussex in September 2011 from Kingston University where she was a Researcher at the Small Business Research Centre (SBRC). Mirela completed her PhD studies at the School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. She also holds an MBA (Distinction) from Staffordshire University. Mirela has a special interest in entrepreneurship and small business development in contexts undergoing institutional change and especially the role of institutions and policies in creating a framework for productive entrepreneurial activities. Mirela has worked on different projects that explore the links between entrepreneurship and regional/local development and has conducted both qualitative and quantitative research.

Mirela has been recipient of several research grants including grants from the British Academy (2009, 2021), the European Commission (2010), the Research and Knowledge Exchange Fund of the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) (2010), the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the Department for International Development (DFID) (2014, 2015).

Mirela is the current President of the European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ECSB) having served on its Board of Directors since 2017. ECSB is a research-driven non-profit organisation that aims to facilitate the creation and dissemination of new knowledge through research and the open exchange of ideas between academia, education, policy and practice. 

She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education awarded by the University of Sussex in 2013.