Research at Keele profile: Professor Simon Pemberton

Which Schools and/or Institutes are you part of?
I'm involved in the School of Life Sciences, the Institute for Sustainable Futures and the Institute for Social Inclusion.
What is your role within research?
I am Professor of Human Geography for the School of Life Sciences, and I am also PI on a current research project exploring the impact of enterprise zones on rural areas.
Can you tell us a bit about your role at Keele? What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no typical day! There is huge variation in my role, including supporting colleagues with research applications; developing new research priorities for the school; working on my own research project and interviewing individuals involved in delivering rural enterprise zones; developing new funding applications in the area of rural and migration studies. I also spend time preparing and delivering teaching for first, second and third years; undertaking PGT teaching; supervising PhD and masters students, assessing ethical applications - the list goes on!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Working with students and other academic staff!
What is your background? How did first get involved in research?
I have a degree and PhD in Geography, and went on to work in local government for four years before becoming Director of the Merseyside Social Inclusion Observatory. From here I then moved on to lectureship and senior lectureship / reader positions. Thus far I have managed over 40 major research projects from inception to completion.
Please tell us about research projects you are involved with.
I recently completed a major international research project focused on empowering cities of migration for JPI Urban Europe. This also involved training and supporting community researchers to collect and analyse data and to develop their skills for doing research.
In addition, I'm currently working on a National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise looking at the key lessons emerging from rural enterprise zones as a tool for delivering rural development.
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