Dr Matthew Sutherland

Key Achievements

Learning and Teaching

• I have led the expansion and development of the second largest undergraduate programme within the Faculty of Business and Law, BA (Hons) Business with Marketing Management. This programme contains over 400 students studying between levels 4-6 and I was responsible for redesigning the employability and work-based learning components within this programme. As part of this role and in order to enhance levels of academic support I solely designed and implemented the Marketing Internship Programme, across all levels. The specific purpose of the programme is to allow undergraduate students to partner with local SMEs and secure first-hand experience of working in the marketing field. The Marketing Internship Programme has secured regional success and recognition with over 240 students being placed in N=157 of the SMEs.
• I mentor staff towards securing their HEA (Higher Education Academy) teaching qualification.
• I was nominated to take part in a university-wide task group organised by the University Academic Registrar to review the current policy and processes for monitoring student attendance.
• Won Best Lecturer’ in the Northumbria University Student Led Teaching Awards, 2014/15. Nominated finalist in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• I am member of the Management Board for the national Small Business Charter.
• I am a Director of leading university-collaboration organisation PraxisAuril
• I am a Senior Small Business Charter Assessor evaluating the provision of enterprise education across the UK in partnership with Enterprise Educators.
• I have delivered Learning and Teaching key notes: Working closely with Hannah Squirrel, Director for Markets and Customers at Greggs Plc I solely established the ‘Greggs Marketing Challenge’ at Northumbria University. A regional-based student business competition judged by Roger Whiteside (CEO) and the Greggs Operating Board, monitoring two student groups to win the competition 2016 and 2017, and hosting the event at Newcastle Business School in 2018 and 2019.
• I was chosen by the Faculty Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching to represent the business school in promoting the NSS campaign.
• I was chosen to represent Northumbria University in writing the North East FinTech Ecosystem Report 2019-2020. The success of this report is feeding into the development of new undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Fintech for open and closed programmes.
• I have had a significant influence on the National Student Survey. I brought about a 10% improvement with an overall satisfaction score of 92% for BA (Hons) Business with Marketing Management. Significant areas of improvement included, ‘Organisation and Management’, ‘The course has been run smoothly’ and ‘Academic Support’.

Knowledge Exchange (totalling £4,510,244 income to date)

• More recently the Marketing Internship Programme has attracted interest from larger clients, namely Sage (UK) Ltd who were interested in collaborating with me in terms of student internships and business research. This relationship has matured and since November 2018 and working in partnership with senior colleagues at Sage (UK) Ltd I established successfully, secured funding for the ‘Making Accountants Digital Enablers’ (MADE) project. This involved completing a piece of contract research in partnership with Sage (UK) Ltd that involved designing a Random Control Trial to investigate whether and how the facilitation of digital adoption in UK SMEs by UK accounting firms increases business productivity. The MADE project is part of the Business Basics Programme positioned within the Dept. of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and funded by InnovateUK. The project targets N=360 accountants and N=1950 of their SMEs customers. This was only one of six non-led trials to be funded and generated £281,120 of enterprise income. 
• Following the successful connections I have developed through the Marketing Internship Programme I initiated and led an application for funding for Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Newcastle-upon-Tyne based charity, The Sports Aid Trust. This 24 month KTP project (REFL 12023) was fully funded through the Economic Social Research Council generating £171,567 of research income. This is the latest of three KTPs I have secured
• Following a two year period working with BEIS and the Small Business Charter I was part of a small team that secured £10.7m from the Treasury to support SMEs productivity, August 2020. This resulted in a training programme for SMEs in leadership and management and generated £600,000 for Northumbria University, supporting over 200 SMEs in the North East and West regions. Round two funding has now been secured creating a further £1.2 per year for the next three years (2021-2024)
• I was part of a team of four who secured £1.9 European Regional Development Funding in August 2021 to provide internship and professional development training to SMEs to help boost business productivity. This involves mentoring businesses and foster collaboration
• Working with my network in China I assembled a short programme that helped Chinese students learn more about British business culture, generating £51,0000 of Continuous Professional Development income.
• Working collaboratively I have completed consultancy with The Marketing Trust worth £9,000 and SportsAid worth £5,941

Research (totalling £22,750 income to date)

• Another development from maintaining strong relationships with North East SMEs has been my work around improving International Student Mobility. I have worked hard to improve opportunities and support for international students who are looking for work-based learning opportunities whilst studying. This involved me partnering with small business employer to discover their discourses relating to international student employability. Consequently, I have successfully published this work in the internationally recognised pedagogy journal, Studies in Higher Education (3*)
• I was invited to deliver a learning and teaching key note speech on establishing work-based learning initiatives (e.g. internships) for international students for Chartered Association of Business Schools at London Met, September 2018; The Society for Research into Higher Education, Nov 18^th London.
• Secured a national profile and reputation for designing and championing work-based learning initiates: delivered strategic workshops at the University of Worchester; University of Wolverhampton; Cardiff Metropolitan University 
• Through leading the activity associated with the Small Business Charter I got the opportunity to contribute to a bid for the Business Basics Programme to be part of a second Random Control Trial. This led to me securing £22,750 of research income.

External Citizenship

• Chairman (5 years) ‘Fertile Ground Limited’ led the application to secure charity status (Registered charity number 1180001) to provide strategic marketing and management advice to grow and expand the charity in secondary education.
• Foundation Governor (3 years) St Roberts of Newminister, Washington. 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Business Schools and Knowledge Exchange: A Chartered ABS Comissioned Research Project, Rodrigo, D., Sutherland, D., Shorley, P. 16 Dec 2025
• Knowledge Exchange and Business Schools – Hidden Gems?: Models of Interaction, Sutherland, D., Rodrigo, P., Shorley, J. 12 Jun 2025, University Industry Innovation Network Annual Conference 2025
• The Co-Existence of Brand Value Co-Creation and Co-Destruction Across the Customer Journey in a Complex Higher Education Brand, Hardcastle, K., Edirisingha, P., Cook, P., Sutherland, M. 1 Jan 2025, In: Journal of Business Research
• An introduction to knowledge exchange, Sutherland, M., Rodrigo, P., Shorley, J., Stephenson, S., Bramald, T. 17 Sep 2024, How to Enable Engagement Between Universities and Business, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
• Try before you buy: a small business employer (SME) perspective of international student mobility in England, Sutherland, M., Thompson , D., Edirisingha, P. 3 Jul 2021, In: Studies in Higher Education
• Why Small Business Matters, Sutherland, M., Stephenson, S., Brannan, I. 5 Sep 2021
• Improving Student Transition and Retention; a Netnographic Insight into Information Exchange and Conversation Topics for Pre-arrival Students., Hardcastle, K., Cook, P., Sutherland, M. 21 Oct 2019, In: Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice
• Social Media in the SME Business to Business Environment and Toolkit, Bradshaw, C., Dodds, K., Crumbley, J., Sutherland, M., Shaw, A. 5 Apr 2019
• Exploring the relationships between motivation, attachment and loyalty within sport event tourism, Kirkup, N., Sutherland, M. 2 Jan 2017, In: Current Issues in Tourism

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• CABS research into KEF, Rodrigo, P. (Principal Investigator), Sutherland, M. (Co Investigator), CABS, 01/01/23 - 31/12/23, £29,915.00
• Help to Grow Management 2021-2024, Wales, J. (Principal Investigator), Sutherland, M. (Co Investigator), Chartered Association for Business Scholars, 01/09/21 - 31/03/26, £2,310,820.00
• Small Business Leadership Programme, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), Chartered Association for Business Scholars, 01/10/20 - 31/03/21, £499,668.00
• SportsAid Trust KTP, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), Innovate UK, 01/11/19 - 31/10/21, £171,567.00
• OTAADA: Optiising Trusted Advisor Accountants for Digital Adoption, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), Innovate UK, 01/09/19 - 31/08/20, £326,984.00
• Basics of School Marketing, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), INDIVIDUAL DELEGATES, 01/12/16 - 31/07/17, £4,500.00
• Basics of Marketing, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), INDIVIDUAL DELEGATES, 06/05/16 - 06/05/16, £2,800.00
• KTP Development of Advanced Materials Commercialisation Strategy with THomas Swan, McLeay, F. (Principal Investigator), Sutherland, M. (Co Investigator), Technology Strategy Board, 01/04/16 - 30/07/18, £125,106.00

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Other: Funding Success: Developing Business-Aware Academics focus group exploring the barriers, enablers and motivators for doctoral and early-career researchers engaging beyond academia (Funding Value- £2483.34) 2025
• Visiting an external academic institution: Birkbeck University of London 2025
• Invited talk: Interview: Collaborating for Impact 2025
• Examination: Small Business Charter Exercise 2025
• Examination: Small Business Charter Accreditation Exercise 2025
• Examination: Small Business Charter Exercise 2024
• Examination: Small Business Charter Exercise 2024
• Hosting an academic visitor: Luis Franceschi 2024
• Invited talk: KE Matters -Webinar 2024
• Examination: Small Business Charter Accreditation Exercise 2024

• Marketing PhD February 01 2008
• Business Studies BA (Hons) June 30 2006
• Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2014

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Linkedin Profile
• Podcast: Why Small Business Matters