Kirsten Black

Kirsten is responsible for the commercial portfolio at the University. She is executive lead for academic and service planning, research and knowledge exchange, income generation, London and Hong Kong branch campuses, strategic development, student recruitment, international activity (including Transnational Education), Sunderland Online (distance learning portfolio), regional development, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Kirsten has over 20 years of leadership experience at the University, having held roles in information services and large, converged student-facing services.

At De Montfort University Library Services, Kirsten was a researcher and project manager for UK and EU projects and a member of the senior management team. She was research-active during the early days of electronic libraries, online image description, and retrieval. She also developed commercial products, applying information technology to library and information science operations. Her early research work sparked an enduring interest and curiosity in applying technology to engage and develop students.

Kirsten holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications from Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology in Aberdeen.