Rodrigo Lucena De Mello

• Consumer behaviour and psychology
• Family tourism
• LGBT tourism
• Service quality
• Hospitality operations

• Gender and sexuality in leisure and the service industry
• Family tourism
• Service quality and operations
• Consumer behaviour and psychology in services

One of the reasons why I quit a successful career in the hospitality industry to move to academia is my passion for learning and teaching. As a lecturer at the University of Brighton, I teach marketing principles and strategies, but also a number of hospitality-related topics.

My classes are designed to be engaging and students are invited to re-think their own paradigms. Rather than imposing views on the topics I teach, I encourage students to reach their own conclusions and make their own decisions. I try to make my sessions as ‘democratic’ as possible, with all students being stimulated to participate with their inputs and no pre-judgment being made to their opinions. In doing so, I expect them to develop their analytical skills and critical thinking, which, I believe, are the most effective techniques for learning.

My enthusiasm, commitment, energy and passion for teaching have already been noticed by my students. Their feedback has been very positive. In 2014, I was recipient of the Inspirational Teaching Award, given by the University of Brighton’s Students Union and, in 2019, the Teaching Excellence Award, by the University of Brighton.