post

Academic Leader - Director Corporate Community and Synergy

responsibilities

Stimulating, facilitating and enabling partnership and action in the promotion of enterprise between industry, community and education to increase student employability.

brief biography

An international business woman and academic. Industry background in facility management, micro enterprise, multinational hotels and restaurants, training organizations and education.

1987 - first UK hospitality industry female awarded a Masters degree (Comparative Employment Relations). The thesis tested hotel productivity models in Berlin and London advising on strategic publications with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Professional qualifications

• MA Comparative Employment Relations
• Postgraduate Diploma, Institute of Personnel Management,
• Training Officer Diploma, Institute of Training and Development
• Post Graduate Diploma in Education

key teaching areas

• Corporate strategy in Hospitality,Leisure & Tourism
• Contemporary Issues in Culture, Creative Industries and Hospitality Leisure Travel & Tourism
• Restaurant business and economics
• Design for Hospitality Leisure Travel & Tourism
• Environmental management

research interests

• Culture and Creative Industries
• Natural disaster management
  
• Anthropology of Restaurants: economic, cultural and ethnic issues
  
• Budget Airlines
• Labour turnover, productivity and benchmarking in service sector
  
• Tourism education
• SME's
   
  

publications

International research publications in micro enterprise, natural disaster management, hospitality and restaurant development, tourism strategy, training and education.

• Wood, P., (2009) "Future Forward", Keynote speaker, Shine Awards, London
• Wood, P., (2008) "Disaster Management - best practice Tourism strategy - Cuba case study", Kunming, China
• Wood, P., Fernandez, H.,(2008) "Cuba Future Tourism Challenges for Education - Cuba tourism education, innovation and development: new opportunities and challenges", WTO, Ulysses Conference, Madrid, Spain
• Wood, P., (2008) "Corporate Strategy -a focus on Hospitality and Tourism", Visiting Professor, Habana University, Centre for Tourism, Cuba
• Wood, P., (2008) "Brain Food -Ingredients for Pupil Success" George Green’s School, Cafe Vert Seminar Series, London

See full bibliography.

professional practice and consultancy

Thought leader, key note speaker, visiting professor, strategic adviser and trainer for curriculum development, industry training, customer relations applications, food and beverage development and small and micro business projects in HLTT with industry and government partners including LDA, British Expertise, Cranfield, European Social Fund, British Council, tourist boards in UK, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Cuba, Caribbean, Sri Lanka, Russia, Romania, China.

• Concept Director: International Alliance Cultural & Creative Industries Symposium, London 2010 (www.iaci-symposium.org)
• Education Industry Synergy Adviser to China Business Network
• Small & Micro Business adviser 'Training for Tourism' Scotland, Greece, Cuba, Caribbean Tourist Boards with European Social Funding
• Tourism education adviser to international governments
• Lead consultant to Tourist Boards:'What the UK Customer Needs'
• C-Trustee to Croydon Education Authority Westwood School
• Adviser to NACUE & London Met Enterprise Society
• Judge Enterprise UK, Shine Awards, Varsity Ventures

Mentor partner:

• "Passport2Shine"
• Business in the Community Mentoring Circles
• Concept Adviser to set up of ‘Café Vert’ Community Cafe, George Green's School, Tower Hamlets
• Tourism expert to London Development Agency

memberships

• Moderator 'Opportunities in Romania in the fields of Tourism and Events Management' The Conference of the Romanian Students, Teachers and Researchers in the UK, 4th Edition, October 2020, London
• Social entrepreneur external representative London Metropolitan University
• All Party Parliamentary Groups:Enterprise and Women, China, Cuba
• Enterprise Alliance UK with BIS - key sponsor
• Joint venture with Peking University: Masters "Edu Tourism" Creative & Cultural Industries Programme
• Founder member "International Alliance Cultural/Creative Industries" with Peking University and Shih Chien University, Taiwan
• Trustee to Croydon Education Authority Westwood School
• Editorial Panel 'Cuba Studies Journal' online
• Founder London Metropolitan University International Institute for Study of Cuba
• A founder member of the International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development
• Education representative British Hospitality Trade Association, Institute of Directors, Canning House, British Expertise, Caribbean Council, Cuba Initiative, Middle East Association, CBBC
• Business Education Partnership planning academic partnership