Dean Profile - Melvyn Pryer

Dean of the School of Business and Marketing

Melvyn has lectured on graduate and postgraduate programmes at University College Birmingham since their inception in 1990, and has undertaken teaching and research assignments in South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Caribbean. In the course of these duties he has worked with UCB’s institutional partners around the world, along with organisations such as the British Council and various Ministries of Tourism. In the UK he has acted as an external examiner since 1995, whilst he has served on undergraduate and postgraduate validation panels in the UK, Ireland and Namibia. Since 1999, Melvyn has acted as the external moderator for hospitality and tourism programmes operated through the Department of Technical Education in Brunei Darrusalam, and has been a National Accreditation Panel Member in the country over the past five years.  A further aspect of his international work has been to act as a joint PhD supervisor since 2000, working with colleagues from the University of Birmingham and the Tunisian Tourism School, La Manouba University.

In the UK, Melvyn has conducted a number of consultancy projects, ranging from market surveys through to impact assessments, and is a regular contributor  to the Oxford University Press series Oxford English – Careers in Tourism. More recently he served as the Chair of the Podium 2012 Employment and Skills (non-London) Action Group and now sits on the West Midlands 2012 Employment & Skills Group. Melvyn also represents the College in a number of university consortiums linked to the development of foundation degrees.

In gaining an undergraduate degree in Geography, Melvyn proceeded to read for a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Development. He then gained the 1978 Shell International Scholarship award to read for an MA in the Geography of the Middle East and Mediterranean at Durham University, which led to his first publication.  Before joining UCB, he worked for the marketing department of a major UK tour operator and the Museum of London as an urban archaeologist before entering the teaching profession in London.  His first teaching assignment was to devise and launch the country’s first Youth Training for the travel trade in conjunction with the ABTANTB, before he left teaching to travel and start business as a copywriter for niche tour operators.  Shortly after returning to teaching, at University College Birmingham, he completed an MBA at the University of Birmingham.

Travel has figured prominently in Melvyn's life from an early age, with long periods of backpacking punctuating his academic progress and working life. From being caught up in the Iranian revolution and rescued at sea off Zanzibar to travelling the overland route to India and walking the Inca Trail, life has now become more predictable, although he still travels in his role at the College. Nevertheless, it is perhaps not surprising that backpacking and overland travel remains his greatest research interest and passion.