Meet our academics - Dr Pete Greenan

At Huddersfield Business School, we employ excellent researchers and teaching staff who care tremendously about our students’ learning experience. We are proud to have achieved The Global Teaching Excellence Award 2017 and the Triple Proof of Teaching Excellence 2022. As part of the meet our academics feature, you will be introduced to a wide range of our academics that support our students throughout their time at university. In this blog, you will hear from Dr Pete Greenan, a Senior Lecturer in Management…  

Please can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

My name is Pete Greenan. My hometown is Huddersfield, however, I lived in Manchester for eight years, and I worked overseas for six years before returning to Huddersfield when my first daughter was born. I am a Senior Lecturer in Management and Human Resource Development at Huddersfield Business School and Course Leader for the Professional Manager Apprenticeship (Level 5). I joined the school as a student to complete the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) professional development programme. I then completed a Master’s in Human Resource Development in 2012. Whilst on this course, I began teaching in a part-time role, and then a full-time opportunity arose, and I was appointed as a lecturer in February 2014. I decided to continue teaching because I was persuaded and impressed by the University's desire to develop its staff with training and professional development opportunities. As a part of my role, I was supported by the Huddersfield Business School to undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE). It was clear that development and innovation were important to Huddersfield Business School, not just for its students, but for staff members as well.  

What do you teach? 

I am the Course Leader for the Professional Manager Apprenticeship (Level 5). Apprenticeships are a great way for employees to develop their skills with the support of their employers. Apprentices combine work and study and are given six hours per week to study. The apprentice can take what they have learnt from the classroom and apply it to what they do at work and manage their personal development. 

I also teach the People Matter module on the Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) course, Human Resource Development module on the third year Business with Human Resource Management BA(Hons) course and Hong Kong top up and lastly ASPIRE2, which is a core module for all second-year undergraduate students.  

How do apprenticeships work?  

An apprenticeship is a great option for anyone interested in doing an apprenticeship or an employer looking to develop themselves or their employees' skills. These programmes are often fully or partially funded by the Government. Teaching will be a mixture of face-to-face taught learning combined with virtual and self-directed learning. Throughout the course, apprentices will be a part of a cohort, as this experience is beneficial for supporting each other, so there will be peer and tutor support. Assessment will consist of activities such as reports, presentations, and company projects so that academic study is integrated with on-the-job training and development. Apprentices are supported by the numerous support networks within the University such as the academic skills support team, Student Union, computing and library services and well-being and disability services. 

We currently have two Apprenticeships at Huddersfield Business School.

1) Professional Manager Apprenticeship (Level 5) - Aimed at anyone who is in a managerial role or developing into one that is looking for support and guidance on how to lead projects or teams: https://hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/professional-development/lvl5-app/ 

2) Senior Leader Higher Apprenticeship (Level 7) - Aimed at anyone who has senior leadership responsibility and is looking to develop a business strategy and improve their managerial skills: https://hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/professional-development/lvl7-app/ 

If you'd like to speak to a member of our Business Development team about an apprenticeship, please email: hbs-apprenticeships@hud.ac.uk 

What has been a highlight during your time at Huddersfield Business School? 

A personal highlight has been the chance to visit and teach in Hong Kong on several occasions. This has broadened my perspective on teaching people from different cultures. The University of Huddersfield works hard to build links and partnerships with international world-class academic institutions and undertake responsible teaching, research and enterprise that enables students to fulfil their academic professional and personal potential. Having the ability to travel to teach and experience different cultures aligns with the University’s mission and vision.  

In terms of professional highlights, I have been involved with developing a degree apprenticeship program. It has been immensely rewarding seeing the progress of the course from the strategic planning process to seeing the first cohort all successfully pass with excellent results. This process took six years but has been very satisfying. I can truly say that the course is engaging, enlightening, and inspiring.  

What is something you wish people knew about Huddersfield Business School? 

I think that the staff are incredibly friendly and down to earth. Higher Education is often a daunting experience, but we take the fear and apprehension out of this to provide an excellent and enjoyable experience for all our students.  

If you want to learn more about Dr Peter Greenan’s career and academic expertise, please visit https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/persons/peter-greenan