Professor Karen Heard-Laureote is now Vice Provost Education and Professor of Learning and Teaching at Solent University.
Intensely enthusiastic about higher education teaching, learning and research, Professor Karen Heard-Laureote has placed considerable emphasis on enhancing these areas of engagement for students of all levels and backgrounds throughout her career. A Political Scientist by training and now Professor of Education and Society at the University of Portsmouth (UoP), her sphere of influence and activity extends into general humanities and social sciences, throughout her institution and beyond.
Impact of work
Karen is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) (since 04/16) evidencing national esteem for strategic engagement with student experience in a supportive, research-informed epistemic environment. She is also a Fellow of the Leadership Foundation (FLF) (awarded 02/16) and is committed to leading teaching innovation to enhance the student experience. As Jean Monnet Chair in European Studies and Jean Monnet Module Convenor she exercises strategic educational leadership by promoting and raising the profile of European Studies across Europe, enhancing European Studies learning and putting students at the centre of teaching and learning (T&L).
Karen is an energetic proponent for the pedagogical approach of active learning and use of simulation-based teaching to enhance engagement and appeal to a variety of student learning styles. She has led multiple postgraduate student experience enhancement activities achieving positive impacts on colleagues through leadership and mentoring, best-practice sharing and her ability to bring colleagues on side. Using a leadership and mentoring approach which is flexible and transformational she is dedicated to leading by example and non-directive mentoring, and has exercised influence in these areas at the international, national and home institution level.
Plans for the future
In tune with Karens underlying ethos of lifelong learning, her profile demonstrates a sustained and successful commitment to continuous professional development. This is evidenced by the range of internal and external events and activities undertaken throughout the course of her career to review and enhance her professional practice and will continue in coming years.