Carolyn Sarah Branston - Senior Lecturer & Study Abroad Co-ordinator for Dept SES

Carolyn Sarah Branston

Senior Lecturer & Departmental Study Abroad/Exchanges Co-ordinator

My profile

Biography

Current Academic Roles

  • Senior Lecturer 
  • Departmental Study Abroad/ Exchange Co-ordinator

Professional Qualifications:

  • MSc, PGDip/ MA, PGDip, BA (Hons)
  • Chartered Member CIPD 
  • Fellow Institute of Hospitality
  • Fellow British Institute of Innkeeping
  • Fellow Institute Of Enterprise & Entrepreneurship 
  • PG Certificate Education (Post 16)
  • Fellow Higher Education Academy

Current Teaching delivery  / Unit Leadership

  • Tourism Entrepreneurship (Unit Lead)
  • Innovation & Creativity Skills for Business (Unit Lead)
  • Developing Self & Others ( Executive Education : Health & Social Care)
  • Social Innovation Through Entrepreneurship
  • International Mobility for Leadership (Unit Lead)
  • Strengths Coaching (Cappfinity)

Additional teaching delivery subjects: 

  • Business Consultancy Project
  • Employability Skills & Managing Digital Footprints
  • Leadership & International Management for Events

Previous Unit Leadership (UG & PGT):

  • Leadership & Entrepreneurship 
  • Ideas, Creativity & Entrepreneurship for Business ( also ICE for Events  & ICE for Tourism) 
  • Career Development
  • Cross Cultural Management 
  • International Human Resource Management 
  • Global Mobility & Talent Management for Hospitality
  • Hospitality Human Resource Management
  • Strategic Tourism Management 

Previous MMU Leadership & International Roles 

  • 2021 - 2022 - Departmental Lead International Student Experience.
  • 2019 - 2021 - Departmental Lead for International
  • 2019 -Exchange Co-ordinator Representative for EQUIS International Accreditation Panel for FoBL.
  • 2012 - 2014 - Faculty Employability Co-ordinator.
  • 2009 - 2011 - Enterprise Fellow (Centre for Enterprise : 0.5 secondment).
  • 2008 - 2010 - Programme Leader. International Hospitality Management
  • 2006 - 2008 - Deputy Programme Leader Hospitality & Licensed Retail Management.
  • 2005 - 2006 - Group HR Strategy - HQ Manchester Airport, MAG (0.5 secondment).
  • 2000 - 2007 - School Industrial Placements Manager.

International Knowledge Exchange: See Projects

External Examiner roles

  • 2014 - 2018  - Oxford Brookes University (International EE - India & Malaysia) 
  • 2012 - 2014  - Birmingham College University - External Examiner validation of new programmes
  • 2009 - 2014  - Sheffield Hallam University - UG & PG  Hospitality and Business Programmes

Practitioner Roles

I have had extensive industry leadership experience in the private sector in corporate national brands and small business ventures operating in the highly competitive service sectors of hospitality, tourism and events. My key leadership roles focused upon facilitating people learning development and business enterprise growth both in operations-managerial and strategic positions.

  • 2007-2019         - Managing Director - Enjoy Learning & Development Ltd
  • Apr-Nov 2000   - Duty Manager/Area Skills Trainer, Toby Restaurants (BLR Ltd)
  • 1993-2000         - General Manager /Share Ownership, Hildyard Arms, Restaurant & Public House
  • 1992-1993         - General Manager & Licensee, Castle Gardens Hotel, Toby Restaurants (BLR Ltd)
  • 1990-1992         - Deputy Manager/ Graduate Trainee, Toby Restaurants (Bass Taverns Ltd)

Prizes and Awards 

See Projects

Research

See Research Outputs

Get in touch

0161 247 2477
BS 5.38 Business School

Projects

  • 2015  Collaborative Partnership Lead

Initiated and established a international collaborative a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management - Dubai, UAE via This provided for teaching, field visits and research.

  • 2014 - 2016 :     ‘Greener Pub Retailing’, Robinsons, Manchester (ESRC)  Role: Co-Investigator

Achieved the MMU Faculty Award FoBL for RKE

“Manchester Metropolitan University collaboration of the Centre for Enterprise and the Dept of Food & Tourism Management teamed up with Stockport-based Robinsons Brewery to identify ways in which pubs, restaurants and bars can become greener and more profitable”. There have been two joint conference papers delivered as additional outputs, see Symplectic. The findings were delivered as research informed teaching in UG units in sustainability in business. Moreover, they have been captured within the practical Greener Retailing Publicans Guide. free to download.   

  • 2013-2014 :     ’Innovation Anchors & Tourism’ Avila, Spain.          (ERDF) Role: Peer Reviewer. A collaborative project with MMU Centre for Enterprise.
  • 2009-2012 :     LEAD (Leading Enterprise & Development), MMU.  (ERDF)Role: Cohort Leader 

‘This SME Leadership Programme at MMU Centre for Enterprise, offered a practical leadership journey for Manchester and Cheshire business owners/entrepreneurs (5-50 employees) to enhance their professional identity and grow their own business by building their leadership talent. LEAD met business owners in their world to work on their issues to create the space they needed to leap into the future. LEAD is an intensive 10-month rich and dynamic learning experience including: Master Classes, Action Learning Sets, Coaching, Business Shadowing and Exchanges, and Learning and Reflection.

  • 2008-2010:  ‘Enhance Employability & Entrepreneurship through Workbased Learning’   Role: Co-Bid Writer & Co-Project LeadKenya, Utalli College Nairobi, Kenya (Educational Partnerships in Africa  & British Council).                                                                                               

Research outputs

  • Reports

    Branston, C.S., Csoban, K. (2013) SMART EUROPE - 'Innovation Anchors’: Tourism Peer Review on Avila Province, Spain (co-author section - Education & Human Resources). Interreg IVC Programme (ERDF) SMART EUROPE.

    Branston, C.S., Theodore, J. (2011) Enhancing the employability and entrepreneurial skills of tourism and hospitality students through work-based learning.

  • Journal articles

    Ineson, E., Loyns, A., Branston, C.S. (2005) 'Cross-Cultural Adjustment for students on placement in the USA.' Tourism, April

  • Conference papers

    Taylor, D., Tucker, P., Branston, C., Lourenco, F. (2019) 'Developing Social Responsibility Values in Nascent Entrepreneurs through Role-Play: an Explorative Study of University Students in the United Kingdom.' In ICEEP 2019 : International Conference on Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. 13. Paris, France, 28/3/2019 - 29/3/2019.

    McNeill, T.A., Baines, S., Branston, C. (2016) 'Towards environmental and economic sustainability in the public house hospitality sector.' In Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 10/11/2016 - 12/11/2016.

    McNeill, T., Baines, S., Branston, C.S. (2016) 'Making Pub Retailing Greener.' In British Academy of Management 2016. Newcastle University, 6/9/2016 - 8/9/2016.

    Ineson, E., Branston, C.S. (2002) 'Promoting links between Management Education and the Hotel Sector.' In Conference MMU/CNIT. Bucharest, 1/1/2002 - 1/1/2002.

  • Presentations

    Ineson, E., Branston, C.S. (2009) Students working in the industry and postgraduate course development. [Presentation] University of Primorska, Slovenija,2009.

  • Theses and dissertations

    Branston, C.S. (2003) 'Customer perceptions of eating-out in branded pubs/bars and their impact on brand image'.

Career history