Sophie Cole

Dr Sophie Cole is an Assistant Professor in Education and Department Head of Apprenticeships, where she leads the development and quality assurance of apprenticeship programmes within the Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing. She has extensive experience in teacher education, having previously led an Ofsted Outstanding PGCE Art, Craft, and Design programme.

Sophie’s research broadly explores Higher Education Pedagogies and specifically studies teacher education, professional capital, creativity in pedagogy, inspection and accountability frameworks, higher and degree apprenticeships, and academic development in higher education. As a funded project, she is currently investigating early career academics’ experiences of impostorism, exploring pedagogies to mitigate its effects. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, contributed chapters to edited books, and presented at national and international conferences and symposia.

A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), Sophie is founder and Programme Leader for both the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) and Academic Professional Apprenticeship (APA), supporting new academic and teaching colleagues in achieving A/FHEA. The APA has also been delivered to clinical educators in regional NHS Trusts, supporting workforce development across the North East. She leads the Postgraduate Researcher Training to Teach programme, supporting over 200 doctoral students annually in developing their teaching practice. She also designed and led a university-wide conference to enhance pedagogy among technical and demonstrator staff.

Sophie contributes to institutional and national discussions on apprenticeship practice, policy and academic standards through programme approvals, trailblazer groups, external examining, consultancy, and sector-wide collaborations.