Susan Pratt

Senior Head of Employability, FABSS

Lead on student employability, conduit for Directors of Employability within the schools in the faculty and develop strategies on employability, careers and placement year with Employability and Careers team.  

Associate Head of Employability SAHCI

In addition to leading on employability, careers and PTY I am developing engagement with the community.  Working with the Surrey Cultural Partnership, Creative Pathways Network, community groups and industry looking for opportunities for students and the university to come together.  I am leading a Creative Challenge Hub which develops projects with students to engage with the greater community and develop employability skills  within the students  application of creative practice.   Examples include students developing story ideas to for a television programme in a 4 week time frame to be broadcast from Australia to Los Angeles.

Student Events and Broadcasts

I work with my students in Music and Media, Students Union, Stag TV and Stage Crew to deliver professional broadcast events from the University of Surrey, Examples are Strictly Come Surrey, Univision and On Air 2025.

Broadcast Professional

As a broadcast industry professional, I have worked as a freelance TV studio director for over 20 years and have worked for most of the major broadcasters.  Before that I was staff with the BBC and in addition to directing fast paced national news programmes I produced and director live outside broadcasts across the country.   I was lucky to have been a vision mixer, sound mixer, visual effects operator, assistant producer, lighting director, vision control engineer, floor manager and camera person in a a range of departments over my years at the BBC. I had began my career in the BBC as a broadcast engineer and the combination of understanding the technology, engineering and production helped to develop better storytelling and production skills in producing films and documentaries.  With my insight into the latest technology and the integration of IP into the broadcast and film industry I work with our team of staff at the University of Surrey to evaluate the latest broadcast equipment for use on location filming and in the TV studio.  The aim is to maintain a professional environment with broadcast standard equipment and processes.

I produce features and documentaries professionally and maintain many contacts with industry.

Broadcast Industry Accreditation Development

Over the last few years I have been working on a new project to create accreditation standards in the television industry which can be attained by any individual.  As a director for the company “Institute for Training in Television Production”, which was formed by industry professional, we have developed the list of keys skills required in our professional field.  The institute has also established greater communication between industry and bodies interested in teaching and training for television with organised event and conferences.  I organised the last conference at Pinewood studios which brought together teachers, lecturers and trainers and TV professionals and employers.  As the project continues to develop the ITTP is now working with International Moving Image Society (IMIS), previously known as BKSTS, which is an accrediting body and has strong links to film and craft skills in our industry.  The partnership continues to develop and I continue to advance the new accreditation for the craft skills in our profession.