Background

Vicky joined the Business School in July 2019 as Lecturer in Creativity and Entrepreneurship. Her research interest lie around (Entrepreneurial) Identities and Student/Researcher Development in relation to Enterprise and Entrepreneurship education.

Vicky previously worked in Newcastle University's Careers Service in the Enterprise Team developing and delivering cross-faculty modules, ACTION For Impact, and supporting cross-faculty extra- and co-curricular activities. Previous to this Vicky held roles in Curriculum Development (Newcastle University Careers Service) and Academic Development (Higher Education Academy) as well as previous teaching roles in Sociology and also running businesses in research consultancy and hospitality.

Qualifications

BA Hons Combined Honours (Sociology & Philosophical Studies)

MA Sociology & Social Research

PhD in Sociology; Thesis: 'Everyday Class Distinctions in Higher Education'

In 2020-21 academic year Vicky took up the position of Degree Programme Director for both of Newcastle University' Business School's enterprise & entrepreneurship programmes, namely: 

Arts, Business and Creativity (ABC)

Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE)

Modules in 2020-21 include:

 Business Enterprise

 Research Methods

ABC Dissertation

ICE Dissertation

Vicky's research interests lie in the field of Researcher and Student identities and development in the context of Enterprise and Entrepreneurial learning; that is, in 'becoming entrepreneurial'.  These interests synthesize her passion for enterprise education and knowledge and experience of the associated pedagogical theory and practice; along with interests on how individuals perform and enact identities in different spatial contexts. Connectedly, Vicky has an interest in the 'Imposter Phenomenon' and has published on this recently.

Vicky's research background in Sociology focussed on the ways in which (gender and class) identities are developed managed by students in Higher Education at different (neighbouring) University institutions in the context of the everyday (student) experience, with her thesis entitled: Everyday Class Distinctions in Higher Education'.  

• Mountford V. The “Jack Wills Brigade”: Brands, Embodiment and Class Identities in Higher Education. In: Waller R; Ingram N; Ward MRM, ed. Higher Education and Social Inequalities: University Admissions, Experiences, and Outcomes. London: Routledge, 2017, pp.136-150.
• Addison M, Mountford V. Talking the talk and fitting in: Troubling the practices of speaking 'what you are worth' in Higher Education in the UK. Sociological Research Online 2015, 20(2), 4.
• Mountford VG. Rules of Engagement beyond the gates: Negotiating and capitalising on student 'experience'. In: Taylor, Y, ed. The Entrepreneurial University: Engaging Publics, Intersecting Impact. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp.61-81.