About

I am a skilled and experienced strategic and operational leader within the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences. I am working closely with the PVC Dean in all aspects of leading the College and specifically as the educational leader. I work collaboratively with other College leaders to operationalise our strategic objectives, enhancing the student experience and ensuring successful delivery of the College business plan.

I am an experienced teacher and industry leader with over 28 years’ experience. My experience spans three FTSE100 organisations as well as a medium-sized company and a charitable organisation before becoming a university teacher and leader in 2013.

I also support the University’s broader leadership team contributing to and supporting the delivery of the University’s strategic aims.

I find the most satisfying part of the job is working with and supporting individuals or groups of learners in their development and growth so they can achieve their goals and complete their degrees. Additionally, collaborating with colleagues who also have a passion for developing and improving the student experience also gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

Teaching responsibilities

I have previously taught on modules related to leadership, human resource management, business management, organisation theory and strategy and project management. I teach at all levels from undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education and adapt my teaching style and interventions relevant to the learners.

Research interests

I have a curiosity about how organisations work and don't work, and, in particular, looking at leadership and the role this plays in organisational success or failure. I have undertaken research on whether students collect their feedback when online assessments are used.

I have a keen interest in how students engage with employability opportunities and whether the use of the dissertation "assures" the employability capabilities and competencies as intended.

Membership of professional bodies

• Principal Fellow of Higher Education Academy (PFHEA)
• Member of Chartered Management Institute (FCMI)
• CMBE of Chartered Association of Business Schools
• Associate member of CIPD (ACIPD)

Professional Qualifications

• Myers Briggs Accreditation OPP
• Practitioner in NLP NLP Academy
• NVQ D32 & D33 Change Consultancy Qualifications

Qualifications

• Masters in Business Administration (Distinction)
• Paralegal in Employment Law Strathclyde University

Recent conferences

• Wright, A., Ward, A, Brooks S. (2020) "Critical Thinking in Business and Management Education: Successes and Challenges", 80th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Teaching and Learning conference August 7th -11th
• Ward AE., Randall R. McGregor, M., (2020) Futures First: Developing employability strategy and interventions, University of Sheffield Learning and Teaching Conference
• Ward AE., Randall R. (2020) Futures First: A strategy for the development of graduate attributes and employability in SUMS, University of Sheffield Learning and Teaching Conference
• Delivered a variety of events, sharing best practices including Telfest, a digital teaching conference, Faculty Learning and Teaching, Management School seminars and Learning and Teaching conferences (internally and externally)
• Ward AE (2017). The role of technology in Assessment, Feedback and Faculty Affordances, 5 June 2017- 6 June 2017. Edgehill Solstice Conference 2017
• Ward AE (2016) Satisfying students’ needs for timely, informative feedback with the constraints and issues of time, quality and consistency. Proceedings of CEEMAN 24th Annual Conference (pp 59 61).online and hard copy, 28 September 2016 - 30 September 2016

Experience in industry

I spent 20 years in industry commencing in 1992. I developed a sales career with Scottish and Newcastle and after a series of promotions moved into sales training and then management and leadership development. After 12 years at S&N, I worked for HBOS plc as a Change Consultant, developing a  suite of programmes and interventions to support the HR function, department leaders and a £40m project on change leadership.

I then joined BskyB where I was an Organisation Development Consultant supporting the business in the development of their strategies to develop their teams and creating leaders for the future in this fast-growing organisation. Following these experiences, I worked in a joint venture company as a senior HRD leader responsible for HR in North of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland before joining a charitable social care company as HR Director.

All of these experiences allow me to use this as a leader in higher education as well as in the material I use for teaching, keeping it real for our students.

International experience

I have experience internationally in both industry and in higher education having given conferences and undertaken a visiting professorship in Europe as well as delivering a presentation at both the British Embassy and the University of Assumption in Thailand. I have worked with colleagues in partnership with Hong Kong Baptist University, British Sini College, Shanghai and Hanoi Business School in Vietnam. I presented to a 20 strong group of academics from Sweden in the use of digital interventions within teaching and leading an educational strategy within a large university department.

Additional interests and activities

• I am an external examiner in another UK university
• I am a member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools Learning and Teaching Committee
• I am a Governor of DN Colleges group Strategic Board and also Vice Chair of their HE Committee

Recent publications

I have recently co-authored the Chartered Association of Business School Learning, Teaching and Student experience Conference 2021.