About

I am currently Course Director for the College of Business, Law and Social Science. This is effectively a Learning and Teaching Director role where I lead on enhancing learning, teaching and assessment practice across the college, including developing and delivering a weekly programme of learning seminars, supporting staff to develop excellent student experience to B3 indicators and supporting the Quality processes, curriculum modifications and validations within college.

Since 2012, I have also been a Senior Lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and have taught on and researched a variety of enterprise, entrepreneurship and business modules. Specifically:

• I want our students to enhance their learning through more active, experiential and applied teaching, learning and assessment approaches which are relevant and useful to businesses
• I want to help small businesses (particularly micro businesses) gain the skills and knowledge to help them attract and retain more customers, and to create more value for themselves and others

Teaching responsibilities

I specifically teach in the areas of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing and Strategy, and at the crossover of these disciplines. Examples of modules on which I lead and teach include:

• UG Enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation modules
• UG International business and strategy modules
• UG and PG Independent Studies and Business Consultancy modules
• PG Strategy & Leadership in Marketing module

Professional interests

I am involved with the Executive Education and Enterprise Development (3ED) team delivering consultancy activities and workshops to a variety of small and medium size enterprises, under programmes such as Enscite, Small Business Leadership Programme, Sustainable and Inclusive Leadership Programme, Help to Grow etc. 

I also co-led the successful Small Business Charter accreditation (and follow-up re-accreditation) of Derby Business School.

Research interests

My research currently focuses on three specific areas:

• Firstly, how to measure and enhance learning through more active, experiential and applied teaching approaches with a particular emphasis on deep and surface learning, both for students and within the business community
• Secondly, how formative and summative feedback is given, received and used to enhance the student experience and outcome, and their quality of learning
• Thirdly, the application of more creative and innovative elements (such as multimedia technologies) within assessment practices to encourage a more enterprising portfolio of evidence which students can present

I have recently completed a Doctor of Education which combines these various research interests within an enterprise education context.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a member of the following professional bodies:

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority / AdvanceHE (SFHEA)
• Member of Chartered Management Institute
• Member of Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Chartered Engineer

Qualifications

My qualifications include:

• Doctor of Education (University of Derby)
• MBA (University of Nottingham)
• PGCHE (University of Derby)
• BSc Chemical Engineering (Loughborough University of Technology)

Recent conferences

• Curtis, V. (2023) “Sustainable Growth for ‘Robert’: Constructive Alignment and Student Activity in Enterprise Education”, Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, Aston University, Birmingham, 8-10th Nov
• Curtis V. (2022) “Employing authentic assessment and formative feedback to promote deep learning: past research, current projects and future directions” Learning and Teaching Conference 2022, University of Derby, 7th July
• Bozward, D., Rogers-Draycott M., Smith, K., Mave M., Curtis, V., Aluthgama-Baduge, C.J., Moon R. and Adams N. (2021) ‘The Impact of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education on Regional Development’, Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, Cardiff University, Cardiff, 28-29th Oct
• Curtis V. (2021) 'Deep and Surface Learning: Alternative Measures of Impact for Entrepreneurship Education' Enterprise Educators UK Enterprise Exchange Event, Measuring the Impact of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education, Online, 8th July 2021
• Curtis V. (2021) 'Embedding authentic assessment, formative feedback and QAA guidelines within enterprise education to promote deep learning' Chartered Association of Business Schools Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Conference 2021, Online, 29-30th June 2021
• Rogers-Draycott, M., Smith, K., Adams, N., Bozward, D., Curtis, V., Moon, R., Aluthgama-Baduge C. and Mave M. (2020) 'Assessing the Impacts of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Education' International Enterprise Educators Conference 2020, Online, 9-11th September

Experience in industry

My industrial expertise lies at the intersection of enterprise and entrepreneurship (particularly in small businesses), marketing and strategy. I am both a practitioner and an academic, and I started, owned, and ran a small business myself, so I have a good appreciation of the current agenda and activity within the enterprise, entrepreneurship, and small business sector. I started my company to help SMEs achieve profitable growth through increasing sales (eg through market research, marketing and customer acquisition) whilst reducing costs through operational and efficiency improvements.

These business consultancy activities have included undertaking and managing contract market research projects and customer surveys, conducting strategic analyses, developing business and marketing plans (and then implementing those plans at a tactical level) and introducing lean thinking. These activities have been for a variety of domestic and international SMEs both in the B2B and B2C arenas and has resulted in improved company performance once the development solutions have been implemented.

Prior to this, I have had a number of senior roles in sales and marketing positions with various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These companies have produced and sold equipment and services which have ranged from single high precision gauges to multi-million pound capital equipment and installation projects. The majority of these products and services were for international clients.

International experience

I have both sold and commissioned equipment as far afield as Fiji, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Senegal and South Africa through many Western European countries including France, Germany, Sweden and Ireland to the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

Recent publications

• Rogers-Draycott, M., Bozward, D., Smith, K., Move, M., Curtis, V. and Maragh D. (2024) “Does Entrepreneurship Education Deliver? A Review of Entrepreneurship Education University Programmes in the UK”, Education Sciences, Vol. 14 , No. 4, p.1-18, https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040361
• Curtis, V. (2023) “Sustainable Growth for ‘Robert’: Constructive Alignment and Student Activity in Enterprise Education”, Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Bozward, D., Rogers-Draycott M., Smith, K., Mave M., Curtis, V., Aluthgama-Baduge, C.J., Moon R. and Adams N. (2023) ‘Exploring the outcomes of enterprise and entrepreneurship education in UK HEIs: An Excellence Framework perspective’, Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 37, No. 3, p.345-358, https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222221121298
• Bozward, D., Rogers-Draycott M., Smith, K., Mave M., Curtis, V., Aluthgama-Baduge, C.J., Moon R. and Adams N. (2021) ‘The Impact of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education on Regional Development’, Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Curtis V., Moon R.J. and Penaluna A. (2021) “Active entrepreneurship education and the impact on approaches to learning: Mixed methods evidence from a six-year study into one entrepreneurship educator's classroom”, Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 35, No.4, p.443-453, https://doi.org/10.1177/0950422220975319