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Dr Susan Dawson

Associate Professor

School: Architecture and Built Environment

Susan Dawson

This culture of collaboration and working across discipline has influenced Susan’s professional and academic career and continues to bring value to her research projects, students and the industry partners she works with.

Susan is currently leading the University development and delivery of degree apprenticeships in surveying, architecture, engineering and construction and is an active member of the employer lead Trailblazer consortiums bringing together the best of higher education and vocational training and working in close collaboration with the professional bodies.

Susan has over twenty years professional experience within architectural practice, working for internationally renowned Ryder Architecture and FaulknerBrown and also the multidisciplinary WSP.  Susan co-ordinated the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) processes within Ryder Architecture from 2003 onwards and remains involved with BIM Academy, the collaborative joint venture between Ryder Architecture and University of Northumbria which continues to cement the North East of England as world leaders in BIM technologies.

Susan’s professional doctorate study is looking into establishing the business value of strategic partnerships with higher education.  This builds on her undergraduate research in Marketing Architectural Services.  She remains passionate about maximising the tri-partite relationship between employer, student and academia and this is reflected in her work with external business organisations and championing the value of collaborative research and achieving publication.

Campus Address

Sutherland Building 005



I am an Associate Professor in Built Environment Education at ֲýƵ and Lead for Educational Partnerships, where I lead the strategic development of practice-integrated higher education across Architecture, Surveying and Construction.

My work centres on designing education solutions that integrate academic learning with professional practice, positioning the workplace as a site of enquiry, judgement and knowledge production. Drawing on over twenty-five years in industry, I operate at the interface between education, industry and regulation, shaping how these systems work together.

Through my role in Educational Partnerships, I lead collaboration with further education, employers, professional bodies and sector organisations to co-design curricula, develop mentoring capability and create scalable, impactful, models of professional education. This work enables sustained cooperation between universities and industry, moving beyond transactional engagement towards shared responsibility for learning.

My research explores the structural conditions required to support this integration, focusing on curriculum coherence, assessment design and employer–university partnership. This informs both institutional practice and national policy through my contributions to Trailblazer groups and advisory work with RIBA, RICS and CIOB.

Collectively, my work advances 'apprenticeship' as a rigorous and inclusive form of higher education that connects learning with practice, widens participation, and supports the development of future professionals across the Built Environment sector.

  • Building February 01 2024
  • Education July 01 2012
  • Building Management BSc (Hons) July 01 1990
  • Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2014
  • Associate Member (ACIAT) Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) 2014

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Upcoming events

REVEAL Architecture
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REVEAL Interior Design
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REVEAL Fashion Exhibition
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