Hazel Ponton joined Northumbria University as a Senior Lecturer in Construction Project Management in 2011, after a 10-year career as a Construction Manager in the north of England. Her industry experience includes working for Balfour Beatty and Laing O’Rourke on various construction projects, including two large hospitals, a university building and a Hilton hotel.

Hazel delivers a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate modules and supervision, including Management of People, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, and Construction Project Planning and Delivery. Hazel is also the UG Final Year Tutor. Hazel is passionate about the student experience. She uses her considerable contacts in industry to organise regular industry-engagement events. Hazel is also a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). She has been involved with organising a number of webinars and a mentoring scheme to support female construction students during their early career. Alongside her teaching and learning responsibilities, Hazel is also currently in the final stages of a part-time PhD, which she commenced in 2016. Her research examines the social interactions that take place during project design team meetings.

Having joined Northumbria University in 2011 as a Senior Lecturer in Construction Project Management, after a 10-year career as a Construction Manager, Hazel has a number of research interests that reflect her industry experience, these include; team dynamics (face to face and in a virtual setting), women in construction, and mental health issues in construction and academia.

Hazel commenced a part-time PhD in 2016. The research examines the social interactions that take place during project team design meetings. Hazel is particularly focused on social cohesion and intragroup conflict and how these social phenomena impact a team’s ability to solve problems and make decisions. Hazel plans to complete her PhD by Easter 2022. During the PhD process, Hazel has presented and published several conference papers at the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) international conference. A specific paper that examined the use of humour during construction design meetings was invited and subsequently was published in the Construction Management and Economics journal in 2019.