Professor Kate Black

Kate is a Professor of Management Learning and Education.

Following an early career as a Marine Ecologist at a Field Centre in rural Pembrokeshire, Kate moved into HR management (Recruitment and Development) within retail management.  Her key role was to implement the recruitment and development strategy during a period when the branch was under considerable strain both locally in terms of staffing availability, and as a result of changing sales strategies.

Kate joined NBS in Summer 2014 following 10 years at the University of Chester, latterly within Chester Business School.  She currently holds the role of Director of Education within the Business School

Kate is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), a Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) and a member of the CIPD (AMCIPD).  She co-Chair of the British Academy of Management (BAM) with responsiblity for Management Knowledge and Education (MKE).  She also co-leads BAM’s Education-focused Professor programme.  Kate has also been Chair of BAM's Identity SIG since 2018

Kate completed her PhD part-time at Lancaster University in August 2013.  Her research examined the learning of professionals working within multi-agency teams within a local authority Children’s Services department.

Kate’s research interests lie in examining informal, workplace learning, as a process of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ (identity) for professionals in the contemporary knowledge economy.  Kate is currently working on a funded research project examining inter-generational learning and knowledge exchange within the knowledge economy.

Her research adopts a largely qualitative approach to data generation with particular emphasis upon visual methods such as photo-elicitation, artefactual conversations and the use of participant-generated pictors.

Kate’s pedagogic research examines such areas as student attendance and engagement and students-as-partners.  She has worked to maintain the relevance of the research methods and dissertation elements of management education in the light of the changing demographic of management students in UK universities.  This has informed one of her projects that examined the role of the undergraduate Business/Management dissertation in developing skills and capabilities for employment.

Kate is a keen road runner, distance trail runner and mountain/hill walker.