Role
The Research and Strategic Partnerships Development Team was realigned in 2020 to include, Research Development, Strategic Partnerships, and Researcher Development. The strategic partnership manager team plays a pivotal role in supporting and developing NTU's strategic partnerships that enhance NTU's research aspirations, student experience and talent and skills development. Each Strategic Partnership Manager is linked with key/sectors and disciplines. Katrina Woodward is Strategic Partnership Manager for the Built Environment and Construction sector. The role focuses on the following responsibilities:
- To lead and manage the NTU strategic partnerships, each sponsored by NTU Executives. The current Strategic Partners in the Built Environment and Construction are Arc Partnership, Morgan Sindall Construction and VolkerFitzpatrick. This involves realizing and maximising all talent, skills, innovation and research activity which provides mutual benefit to the strategic partner, and NTU, the students and staff.
- To aid built environment and construction businesses to develop meaningful relationships across the university and to sign-post to staff, schools, and range of services and activity, as appropriate.
- To support the university in engaging business and industry leaders who offer valuable insights, knowledge exchange and engagement to benefit NTU students and staff.
- To support leading businesses in the sector to co-create and co-invest in collaborative projects that lead to mutually beneficial organisational outcomes and wider benefits to the sector.
- To support commercial services for external organisations, building on the University’s academic and research expertise and facilities.
Career overview
Prior to joining Nottingham Trent University Katrina was the skills and employability commissioner at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) working across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Katrina brought together local authority and business to create a shared understanding of the skills needed across the D2N2 region. This was instrumental in the development and commissioning of purposeful and targeted funded skills and employment interventions and activity for the region. As part of this work Katrina commissioned the development of the employer-led Construction and Low Carbon skills action plans for the D2N2 LEP which were used to define the strategic content of ESF programmes to raise the sector skills and employment levels to benefit the local economy. Prior to this Katrina worked for a local Further Education College managing the employer engagement team, and overseeing the delivery of vocational and apprenticeship programmes.
Research areas
External activity
Katrina supports local and regional communities that inform business thinking and planning through employer groups, including CE Midlands and ProCon Nottinghamshire. Katrina is co-chair of governors at Melbourne Infant School in Derbyshire.