Professor Pauline Dixon, PhD, FAcSS, FRSA,
Pauline has been researching literacy programmes for the last 25 years at Newcastle University. She is passionate about children’s reading and has witnessed how important being able to read in both heritage language and a global language is for children around the world. When children from disadvantages backgrounds are literate their lives can be transformed.
Dr Steve Humble, MBE, FIMA
Steve is a Reader in Global Development at Newcastle University. His expertise is around analysing data using advanced statistical techniques. He has worked in numerous African and Asian countries where his research has been instrumental in changing education policy and practice.
Dr Louise Gittins, Project Director Universal Learning Solutions
Louise is the Co-Founder and Project Director of Universal Learning Solutions (ULS). ULS was founded in 2013. Her Doctoral thesis carried out at York University was entitled “Our Children Have a Right to Read” with a focus on Nigeria. Louise has worked extensively with governments throughout Africa to improve their national strategies on literacy with a focus on primary education.
Dr Chris Counihan, FHEA, Northumbria University
Chris is an Assistant Professor in Education at Northumbria University and a Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). His PhD studied the effects of a peer-mediated literacy intervention with children from rural India. Chris has over ten years experience of working and leading on international development and education projects. His primary research interests lie in the field of child development and policy initiatives in education.
Professor Nadia Siddiqui, Durham University
Nadia Siddiqui joined Durham University in 2013. Her interests are school improvement by equalising opportunities, and overcoming the challenges of access to education in the global south. She has several hundred research publications, including four books. She is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and was nominated and selected in the UPSIGN list of 75 most notable British Pakistani Academics.
Robbie Shaw, Newcastle University
Robbie is a doctoral researcher and an educationalist with a passion for development and language. He has travelled extensively in Asia working in schools in China as well as being an education advisor in India. His doctoral thesis looks at bilingual experiences. Using a social network questionnaire inspired by Navarro and Rossi, Robbie will investigate the sociolinguistic construct and bilingual experiences as revealed by “ego” and “alter” for bilinguals studying in the north East.
Charlotte Brown, Newcastle University
Charlotte is a PhD researcher in Education with an interest in creative learning, equality, and youth empowerment. With a background in geography and experience in development focused volunteering projects, she is passionate about using creative arts based practices to inform behavioural change. Her doctoral thesis considers stigma around Parkinson’s Disease and Epilepsy in Kilifi, Kenya.