Rachael Newman

Before joining the University of Portsmouth as a Teaching Fellow, I had a varied career as a Human Resources professional working for global brands, public and private sector organisations, and charities. In 2018, I took a career break and completed an MSc in Human Resource Management (with CIPD Level 7). Consequently, I joined the part-time teaching staff in September 2019 and then moved to the full-time teaching staff in February 2022. I have completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education and am currently undertaking a PhD. I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My PhD is developing an intervention for those with mental health issues who are encouraged to be at work despite being ill. Further to the PhD, I am interested in employee wellbeing and presenteeism and how employers can work with individuals to enable them to be productive in work while looking after their health.    

I am the Course Tutor for Level 4 on the BA (Hons) Business and Management degree. I understand the value of developing students' employability skills alongside their academic skills. This is due to my working within HR for 20 years, I use this experience to inform my teaching with real-life examples to make my teaching ‘real’ for students. This adds a practical dimension developed from theory which is valuable to students who leave the University of Portsmouth and enter directly into the job market.

2023/24 I am module co-ordinating a core Level 4 module called Professional and Academic Skills for Success (PASS) which embeds employability, study skills, and personal development into the module. At the core of PASS is personal tutoring as I wish for students to be supported and succeed regardless of their personal situations.