Meet our academics – Katey Curtis

At Huddersfield Business School, we employ excellent researchers and teaching staff who care tremendously about our students’ learning experience. In this edition of ‘Meet the academics’ we shine a light on our Executive and Professional Development team with Katey Curtis, Senior Practitioner at Huddersfield Business School. Katey delves into her passion for small business and the special alumni community formed through our Help to Grow management programme.

 

Please can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Katey Curtis, and I’m a Senior Practitioner of Executive Education at Huddersfield Business School. Where a lecturer in the Business School will derive their knowledge for the classroom from their research and collaborations, a Practitioner will have a second job, in the private sector. This allows them to practice their subject from which they can develop their knowledge and bring this back into the classroom.

I’ve lived in Huddersfield since I was four, when my parents came here to run their village newsagents. I’ve grown up in the world of small business and seen the drive and determination it took to my parents to grow their business. I’d say this is the reason I am so passionate about my role and the programmes I contribute to at the Business School.

As I embarked on my own career, I stayed in the world of small business, climbing the ranks of a family-owned manufacturing company, also in Huddersfield. It was during this role that I became obsessed with the intricacies of the operations and I’m certain it was this that led me to pursue what became a successful career as a Chartered Management Accountant.

What do you wish people knew about Huddersfield Business School?

Huddersfield Business School has a wealth of knowledge inside of it and masses of courses that businesses commonly don’t realise exist. I think organisations tend to think of training providers when looking at learning and development and will pay lots of money to providers in Leeds and Manchester not realising similar courses are available here in their Region’s Business School. We offer short courses, longer qualifications, courses for 1 employee, courses for 10 employees etc. So, I wish people knew about that and explored these opportunities with us.

Businesses who have hosted our alumni events so far include Dark Woods Coffee, Lawrence Batley Theatre and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, with topics including Personal Branding in a Digital World, Wellbeing in the Workplace and How to use Value to Attract and Retain the Right People to Grow your Business.  In December 2023, we also hosted our first Help to Grow Awards at Lu’s Place - one of our very own Help to Grow alumni, where we celebrated the outstanding accomplishments of our Help to Grow business leaders who have been part of the programme.

The biggest achievement though is just being a part of something really special. I’ve never worked in an organisation with people that care so much about one another, but also about what they are delivering and the importance behind that. I absolutely love my job and everybody I work with!

 

You can find out more about the Business Support and Professional Development opportunities offered by Huddersfield Business School at - https://www.hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/