Dr Susan Kenyon

I have dedicated my career to advancing inclusion. I am passionate about increasing equality of opportunity and outcomes, across society and am leading transformational change in Higher Education (HE) and the transport industry.

I believe that HE’s transformative potential can only be realised through inclusive pedagogies, policies and practices that enable students from all backgrounds to achieve their full potential. Through leadership, teaching and my internationally recognised research, I have impacted pedagogy, policy and practice in HE Institutions (HEIs) across the UK.

I am a National Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I was awarded the 2025 Vicky Randall Prize for outstanding professional contributions to advancing learning and teaching in political studies, from the Political Studies Association. I was awarded the ASPIRE Non-Journal Dissemination Award 2026, in recognition of the impact of the Commuter Student series, in collaboration with Wonkhe.

I am proud recipient of multiple Golden Apple awards from my students at CCCU.

I have a PhD in Transport Studies (Southampton), an MA with Distinction in Environmental Politics (Keele) and a BA Hons in Politics (York). I have a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (Kent).

As Principal Lecturer in Politics, I am fortunate to teach a wide range of core and optional modules. I am highly experienced in teaching diverse cohorts of students, supporting their success from Foundation to PhD.

My positive impact on the student experience includes:

• Pedagogy: pioneering the adaptation and leading the adoption of the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate engineering method of teaching in the social sciences, enabling students to be employability-ready on graduation;
• Policy: driving the national agenda to recognise commuter students as a priority group for widening participation and equality of opportunity, leading innovative research and changing policy across the sector, within HEIs, the transport sector and government;
• Practice: enabling the student voice through effective evaluation methods, which enable students to tell us what is important to them and provide staff with the insights that they need, to improve their practice.

My ability to impact and drive the agenda is the result of my experience as an academic, consultant and research manager, in academia, government and the transport industry. I am highly experienced at collaborating across academic disciplines and sectors, with practitioners and with policymakers. I have a demonstrable ability to recognise and meet the needs of many different stakeholders, including those in the academic, business and political environments.

I am known for my research into innovative pedagogical approaches and my pioneering research with commuter students, raising awareness of their transport-related exclusion, advancing understanding and influencing curriculum adaptation, across the UK.

My research into the links between transport and social exclusion and the possibility of travel behaviour change are widely cited in the academic literature and government policy documents, across the globe. This includes one of the top ten most cited journal papers in The Journal of Transport Geography.

I have published and presented research in areas including:

• Transport studies, including travel behaviour, travel behaviour change and the social impacts of transport.
• Learning and teaching: pedagogy, policy and management.
• The science of behaviour change.
• Qualitative research methods.
• Time use studies.

I am a co-convenor of the Political Studies Association Teaching and Learning Network.

I am a member of a journal Editorial Board and regularly peer review journal papers for many journals.

I am a member of a number of Advisory Panels, supporting and guiding research and policy development, in academia, policy institutes and government.

I have worked as a consultant to a range of external bodies, including UK Government Departments and Committees in the UK Houses of Parliament, Canterbury City Council and a range of UK businesses.