Global Sustainable Development News
New Africa Research Network launching in October
On Wednesday 16 October 2019 the network launch of Warwick's Africa Research Network, led by GSD Assistant Professor Nick Bernards, will take place from 1pm-3pm in R0.14 (Ramphal Building).
GSD academics offer media comment on Brazilian fires
In an article recently published by the Express.co.uk, Dr Alastair Smith and Dr Jess Savage comment on the impact and long-term implications of ongoing fires in the Amazon Rainforest.
Institute for Global Sustainable Development Launch
On Wednesday 25 September (tomorrow!) at 10am, the official launch of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD) will take place at Scarman Conference Centre.
The event will outline the strategy of the IGSD and the support that it will provide to researchers interested in engaging with the Global Goals. There'll be an exhibition of case studies highlighting some of the research already being done across Warwick, and the opportunity for networking and community building. The launch is timed to coincide with Global Goals Week, an annual week of action, awareness, and accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Institute for Global Sustainable Development is a recently established research initiative at the University of Warwick with the mission of being a hub for transdisciplinary research on global sustainable development, i.e. research that crosses disciplinary borders and includes non-academic stakeholder communities to achieve effective sustainable development impact.
To find out more about the launch and the agenda for the day, please see here. Although the event is now fully subscribed, please email Stephanie Whitehead (s dot whitehead at warwick dot ac dot uk) to see if any spaces have become available.
School for Cross-faculty Studies students to present at ICUR 2019
The International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) is an annual academic conference, led and sponsored by the University of Warwick and Monash University, that connects student researchers globally using video conferencing technology.
ICUR encourages participants to rethink their own work in an international context. As a forum, it requires presenters to consider the perspective of students from different backgrounds, and to anticipate what may be shared across cultures and local contexts. This challenge also translates to research questions, encouraging students to examine global and regional trends in their research field, and how these might conflict with local concerns and specificities.
This year, the forum will take place on the 24th and 25th of September in the Oculus building, where several students from the School for Cross-faculty Studies will be presenting their research.
Dr Peter Dwyer joins the GSD Team
Dr Peter Dwyer joined the School for Cross-faculty Studies in September 2019 as a Teaching Fellow and Director of Student Experience in Global Sustainable Development.
Peter has a transdisciplinary background in the political economy of development and social change, social movement studies and popular education, particularly in Africa. Prior to joining Warwick, he held teaching and research positions at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Ruskin College in Oxford and he has worked in the private and not for profit sectors in South Africa and the UK.
Peter has a wide range of teaching and supervisory experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and his current research interests are focused on the movements to de-colonise education and knowledge production.
New publications on fintech by GSD researcher
A recent special issue of Review of International Political Economy, co-edited by GSD Assistant Professor Nick Bernards, looks at the politics of emerging technologies in global finance.
New financial technologies ('fintech') have attracted growing media and policy attention in recent years, drawing both a good deal of hype about their potential benefits and concerns about the possibilities for abuse, surveillance, and instability created by new technologies. Despite this, there has remained little critical social science literature looking at the driving forces behind the promotion and adoption of fintech. This project aims to begin addressing that gap.
The issue includes eight articles touching on subjects including uses and abuses of Big Data in microcredit, digital technologies and remittances, platform lending, high-frequency trading and alternative credit data. Along with editing the collection, Dr. Bernards contributed a co-authored introductory article, and a sole-authored article on psychometric credit scoring and financial inclusion.
Prof Cathia Jenainati leaving the department and Dr Stephanie Panichelli-Batalla appointed as the new Head of School
After 20 years working at our University, and five years leading our School, Prof Cathia Jenainati has left Warwick University to take up a role at another University.
As a colleague of tremendous intelligence and loyalty, and an extremely supportive and energetic Head of School, Cathia will be sorely missed. She has been a wonderful friend and colleague, the true backbone of our School. We wish her the very best for a successful future!
Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla has now assumed the role of the Head of School, and she is looking forward to lead GSD staff and students to further success. We believe this to be very exciting news and we wish Stéphanie well in this new phase of her academic career!
New study on superbugs in Southeast Asia published by GSD researcher
Image credit: Patthanan Thavethanutthanawin
A lack of awareness is often portrayed as a key driver of irrational antibiotic use and the spread of drug resistant superbugs. A new article, led by Warwick University Assistant Professor Marco J Haenssgen, has now revealed how widespread the basic understanding of drug resistance in Southeast Asia is, and that higher levels of awareness are linked to higher antibiotic use in the general population. The researchers call for broader development policy approaches to tackle the superbug crisis.
A new teaching staff member joining the Team!
Dr Morakinyo Adetutu will join the School for Cross-faculty Studies in September 2019 as Senior Teaching Fellow in Global Sustainable Development.
Morakinyo’s teaching spans both undergraduate and postgraduate areas of environmental and natural resource economics and global development. Morakinyo’s recent research focuses on exploring the effectiveness of energy and environmental policy, as well as the intersection of commodity markets with financial systems.
GSD student Todd Olive has been selected to become a Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA)
Todd Olive, a Second Year Economics and GSD Student, is now a Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA). WIHEA is the UK's first institutional academy of educators for staff and students engaged in the advancement of learning and teaching excellence. It provides an institutional platform for collective discussions on learning and teaching and on the academic student experience. Currently, its key themes are Undergraduate Research, Internationalisation and Interdisciplinarity. It is on the latest that Todd chose to focus on.