'Academic Barbie' says students assume she's a clueless fresher - but she's a university lecturer with a PhD

A woman described as an 'academic Barbie' has said students often assume she's a hapless fresher when she enters a classroom - and are stunned when they realise she's their university lecturer. Katie Lloyd, 27, received a PhD in marketing and strategy in March this year and is now a lecturer in fashion marketing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Miss Lloyd, from Bromyard in Herefordshire, spent four years completing her studies - while having perfectly manicured nails and bouncy blowouts. The lecturer and part-time bridal model said she hopes to inspire other women to follow an academic career path and break the stereotype of what a person in academia should look like. She revealed she often faces assumptions around fashion being a 'fluffy' subject and said she is not always taken seriously due to her age and the way she dresses for 9am lectures. But she added that she would never change her aesthetic and loves being compared to Legally Blonde's Elle Woods or a real-life Barbie doll. Miss Lloyd said: 'I think being a young female in academia is massive. 'There is a bit of a stereotype that you have to be older and that to be an expert you need age behind you. It's nice to be able to push those boundaries. Miss Lloyd, from Bromyard in Herefordshire, said she hopes to inspire other young women to pursue a career in academia The university lecturer said she regularly gets mistaken for a hapless fresher Katie Lloyd (pictured) received a PhD in marketing and strategy in March this year 'When I would go to events and say I teach fashion marketing, people don't really take you seriously. 'When you say the word "fashion", immediately people think it's a fluffy subject. 'I might look like a young girl that's blonde and give that stereotypical "Elle Woods" look. 'But when I stand up, people all of a sudden listen and realise I know my stuff and it [fashion] is a really interesting topic.' She added: 'I love fashion, make-up and getting glam - even if it's for my 9am lecture. 'It's great that I'm there owning how I want to look and my own personality comes across in how I dress and do my make-up and my identity. 'I get mistaken for being a student all the time. When it's the first week back, people will always ask me if I need any help or know where I'm going.' Miss Lloyd graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2020 with a first-class degree in fashion marketing management. The 27-year-old also gets compared to Elle Woods - and even has a lookalike sausage dog The part-time bridal model said completing her PhD was one of her proudest life moments Miss Lloyd teaching in the classroom at Cardiff Metropolitan University She then went on to achieve a distinction in her digital marketing and data management masters in 2022 alongside working as a personal stylist on social media. While also working as a bridal model and a full-time university lecturer, Miss Lloyd then began studying for her PhD in 2022 on a full-time scholarship. For her thesis, she researched how social media influencers deal with online hate, a study which saw her interview Love Island and Married at First Sight stars. When she finally submitted her PhD, she said it was one of the proudest moments in her life. She said: 'I think people do sometimes judge me for my age and how I look before they listen to what I've got to say. 'It goes back to not being taken seriously as there is almost a bit of a tradition that an academic or a lecturer has to dress quite plainly. 'When I was told I had passed and was now a doctor, it was quite a surreal moment. 'I was so proud of myself. It was one true moment in my life where I knew I deserved this and I had worked hard for it.' In the future, Miss Lloyd said she hopes to open her own influencer agency following the extensive research she conducted to complete her PhD. She is now urging other women to consider an academic career as she pointed out the importance of having diversity in the intellectual space. Miss Lloyd concluded: 'I'm not going to change how I look for my job role, I love expressing myself. 'I've had a couple of people compare me to Elle Woods as I have a little sausage dog too. 'I also get Barbie and in my bio on social media, I have myself as "academic Barbie". 'Around the office it's become a bit of a running joke. If someone asks "who's Katie" they'll say it's the blonde one that looks like Barbie. 'As a woman in research it's hard to have your voice heard but being able to push the boundaries and navigate this, it's so important to be done. 'I'm one of those people that will keep knocking on those doors until I'm heard.'