Dr Karen Mpamhanga (formerly Smith) is Professor of Higher Education and Professional Learning in the Schools of Law and Education at the University of Hertfordshire. Karen is a creative and critical education researcher, engaging in research, evaluation, and development projects inside and outside universities, working with a range of different partners, commissioners, and funders. Recent project work has focussed specifically on transnational education and transnational educators; international students; educational development and educational developers; innovative practitioners; alternative approaches to education; and partnerships between creative practitioners and educators. Her work is underpinned by a commitment to collaboration, mutuality, and professional learning, where she seeks to empower professionals through actionable recommendations, accessible toolkits, and enhanced capacity to engage in practitioner research. Karen supports the generation and dissemination of educational research through her work on the University of Hertfordshire’s Professional Doctorate in Education (EdD), her doctoral supervision, as an editor of the book series Critical Practice in Higher Education, and as an executive editor of Teaching in Higher Education. Karen brings to the AECED project her interest in professional learning and her experience of participatory approaches to research.
In her spare time, Karen loves the freedom that swimming, running and yoga give her. In the summer, Karen likes nothing more than spending time at the sea with her family, enjoying warm weather and the peace of paddleboarding.
You can read more about Karen’s work at: https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/persons/karen-mpamhanga
You can follow Karen on Twitter (X): @karensmith_HE, or on LinkedIn.