Dr Sarah Underwood

Since joining the University of Leeds, Dr Sarah Underwood has developed a range of enterprise-related modules and activities for all undergraduates and more specifically for medical and healthcare students. She has established the new discipline of social enterprise at the university and launched many new elective modules as well as an MSc in Enterprise. Sarah has also developed and implemented a number of teaching innovations within the Leeds curriculum, including the Year in Enterprise and the Social Enterprise Zone. Sarah became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2010 and in 2013 she was elected to the board of Enterprise Educators UK and in 2016 became Vice-Chair. Impact of work Sarah is now an Associate Professor of Enterprise and the Director of the Centre for Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Studies. She is also the University of Leeds Programme Director for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses; working with high-growth SME owners across the UK. In 2015/16, Sarah's innovations in developing enterprise activities for students contributed to Leed's University's recognition with the 'Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship' and the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year award. This follows the 2014 Small Business Charter Gold award. In addition to her Enterprise activities, Sarah developed major strategic advantages for the University of Leeds Business School through the escalation of the facultys blended & digital learning portfolio. This culminated in the successful roll-out of more than 1,400 iPads to all Business School postgraduate students in 2014. Sarah was awarded a full University Student Education Fellowship in 2013 in recognition of her scholarly work. Plans for the future Sarah continues to develop innovations in distance learning, notably in finding new ways to (re)create experiential learning environments online. Short-term, these innovations will be incorporated into a brand new, European module on Entrepreneurship in Food Science launching in January 2017 which will be delivered as part of the £988,000 Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances for Higher Education Bid 'European Food Studies & Training Alliance'. Longer-term, Sarah is aiming to develop experiential learning activities in online environments that will directly enhance enterprise education across the globe.