Professor Sarah Underwood BSc Hons, PhD, FHEA, NTF

Professor Sarah Underwood is the Head of the Strategy, Enterprise & Sustainability Department for the MMU Faculty of Business & Law. She joined the department in January 2023; taking up a role that allows her to combine her interests and experience of academic leadership, enterprise and executive education.

Sarah previously worked at Leeds University Business School as the Director of the Centre for Executive and Professional Education (2018-2022) and a Chair of Entrepreneurial Practice (since 2018). Before that, Sarah was the Director of the Centre for Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Studies (2015-2018). 

In the executive education space, Sarah amalgamated the Leeds Executive Education group with Online Distance Learning, eMBA and Small Business Support to create a new Centre, led the development of the University’s first level 7 Degree Apprenticeship (MSc Senior Leadership) achieving a GOOD OfSTED rating (2022), and created several new business development programmes (launched Jan 2019) whilst introducing new CPD approval processes for the University. She was also the University of Leeds Programme Director for Help To Grow (2021), Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women (2017) and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (2016-2020); working with high-growth SME owners across the UK and internationally.

From joining the University of Leeds in 2008, Sarah helped to established “enterprise” as a discipline and launched many new elective modules at undergraduate level and masters level programmes. Sarah developed and implemented a number of teaching innovations within the Leeds curriculum.

Professor Sarah Underwood was awarded Honorary Fellowship of EEUK in 2019 in recognition of her dedicated service to the organisation and her contribution to the wider enterprise educator community. She was the Chair of Enterprise Educators UK in 2017/2018 (serving on the board from 2013-2019) and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2017 in recognition of her contribution to developing innovations in enterprise education.

In 2015/16, Sarah’s innovations in developing enterprise activities for students contributed to Leeds University’s recognition with the ‘Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship’ and the Times Higher Education ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year’ award. This followed the 2014 Small Business Charter Gold award (renewed in 2019).

In addition to her Enterprise activities, Sarah led major strategic projects for Leeds University Business School through the escalation of the faculty’s blended & digital learning portfolio. This included the successful roll-out of more than 1,400 iPads to all postgraduate students in 2014.