The world is burning – literally – and climate change has led to an increase in weather unpredictability. Meanwhile, the world is reeling from its latest pandemic, almost certainly caused by live animal trading, and the hugely beneficial impact of new COVID vaccines has been tempered by gross global inequity in access, leaving us all still at risk. And then there is the gross failure of international political governance to secure a peaceful outcome for the people of Afghanistan. This all comes on top of a distinct move to inward-looking and nationalist feelings here in the UK, and other parts of the world, which saw significant cuts to UK overseas development aid, including research funding.

It is easy to feel despondent and powerless to respond in a constructive manner.

However, despite these challenges, universities have an opportunity to make a change in their global impact and collaboratively contribute solutions to these critical challenges for the future. We at UCL are in a particularly strong position. We host an amazing and broad spectrum of research activities, and a truly international student and staff body. We also work within a longstanding UCL ethos of tolerance, inclusivity and a commitment to equity.

And there are many wonderful examples of how UCL and our partners contribute to global good, ranging from the Institute for Global Prosperity’s co-creation of sustainable energy provision with communities in Lebanon, through to the Institute of Healthcare Engineering releasing full design and manufacturing instructions, on a zero-cost license, for the local production of UCL-Ventura CPAP ventilators around the world.

Nevertheless, translating our academic strengths into global impact does not happen by accident. We need to continue to build an infrastructure, and incentives, to encourage more cross disciplinary (or rather, transdisciplinary) research, and support our staff to build their nascent or early-stage international partnerships into something capable of delivering benefit to peoples around the world. Equally, our students will not automatically become global citizens, despite our strapline of “London’s Global University” – there is a need to continue to proactively enhance their international experience at UCL. Our recent success in applying to the Turing Scheme – as replacement of the Erasmus programme – is excellent news.

How are we supporting the UCL community to achieve this? Firstly, we recently brought our Global Engagement team within the portfolio of the newly formed Office of the UCL Vice-Provost for Research, Innovation and Global Engagement (RIGE). This will help us to broaden and better coordinate the support we can provide to academics across the university, particularly with the emerging UCL institutional strategy and priorities for research, innovation, education and external engagement.

Secondly, by building on UCL’s existing strong international links and successes from the last five years – including global institutional partnerships with academic institutions and other organisations around the world – we aim to ensure the work of Global Engagement will be even more strongly guided by academic staff and their faculties’ priorities. We are delighted to work closely with UCL’s Vice-Deans (International) to ensure this alignment can maximise our research and education impact globally.

And thirdly, we aim to ensure that our global perspective and the support Global Engagement provides will be better integrated into new cross-institution initiatives such as those targeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the climate emergency, and equity and inclusion. We also want to continue supporting global opportunities for students, enhance our support with faculties for PhD and early- and mid-career researchers, and ensure seamless and better coordinated internal funding processes. This includes building on the highly successful Beyond Boundaries conference we held with UCL Grand Challenges in late 2020.

Most importantly, whatever your role and position at UCL, I invite you to let us know of your own plans and aspirations for creating global impact. It is important to share our activities across the institution and beyond, and it helps us in the UCL Global Engagement team to continue to adapt our activities to support you in achieving the global impact we all wish for.

• Email Deenan, your Vice-Dean (International) or a Regional Pro-Vice-Provost
• Join one or more of UCL’s regional networks
• UCL Global Engagement funding opportunities
• UCL RIGE funding opportunities

By Yasmin Lambert

The winning entries from this year’s UCL IOE Confucius Institute Young Photographers’ Competition will soon be available to view during upcoming exhibitions at UCL.

The Young Photographers’ Competition is open to people aged 18 years and under, run by the UCL IOE Confucius Institute for Schools (IOE CI) and supported by the Chinese Embassy.

Its aims are to dispel the cultural stereotypes of China through photography, to show the country through the eyes of young people, and to encourage young people to explore their relationship with China and Chinese culture.

The IOE CI offers support to UK schools so they can both teach Mandarin Chinese and learn about China. It also oversees international school partnerships, supports curriculum development, develops teaching resources, undertakes research, runs annual student camps to China and works with awarding bodies on accreditation.

In 2019, the competition featured five China-related categories that could be interpreted in different ways. Four of the five categories included photographs that had been taken in China and the fifth category was for photos with a Chinese theme that had been taken in the UK:

• China in colour (Portfolio)
• China and her food
• China at home (UK-based)
• The people of China
• Young China (Under 14)

The majority of entries came from school students in the UK and feature photographs that the students had taken on school trips or holidays to China. As ever, entries were of a very high standard and it was fascinating to see how the students had interpreted the category titles.

After much deliberation, the judging panel shortlisted four entries for each category (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and Highly Commended), and the winners were announced just before the Christmas break.

To celebrate the amazing quality of the photographs and the success of the competition,  all 36 of the winning entries will be on display – first at the Chinese Embassy on 24 January to celebrate Chinese New Year – and then open to the public at UCL.

3–21 February 2020

• UCL North Cloisters, Wilkins Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
• 10:00-18:00 Monday – Sunday
• Cost: Free

1-22 May 2020

• UCL South Cloisters, Wilkins Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
• 10:00-18:00 Monday – Sunday
• Cost: Free

China in colour (Portfolio)

Amrit Chahil, Age = 13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China and her food

Henry Yue, Age = 16

 

 

 

 

 

China at home (UK-based)

Sofia Millington Gomez, Age = 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The people of China

Becky Gillan, Age = 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young China (Under 14)

Julian Castro, Age = 14

 

 

On 7 November 2019, the event ‘UCL in the Arab World: Collaboration, Experiences and Opportunities’ was held in UCL’s Bentham House, for a full day of presentations and reflections on what it means to work in the MENA and the possibilities and challenges for existing and future collaborations.

UCL and partner experts got together for this event to explore three main themes: “Research, Innovation and Impact”, “Collaboration, Partnership and Delivery”, and “Trends and Opportunities”. Find out more about the sessions and the delegates’ experiences below.

Emerging Trends, Themes and Opportunities

Session 1 

Prof Nora Colton (Pro-Vice-Provost, Postgraduate Education, UCL) chaired a session exploring some of the opportunities in the region that exist against a challenging background. Michael Stephens (Research Fellow for Middle East Studies, RUSI), Dr Neil Quilliam (Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House), Dr Sam Evans (Director, Global Engagement Office and UCL Qatar) and John Shaw (Associate Partner, Cushman and Wakefield) took part in the panel discussion.

Critical thinking can be a challenge in teaching in several countries in the MENA region – there has been a government push back on free access to information following the Arab Spring. On the other hand, collaborations in the area can lead to students developing an interest in undertaking education in foreign universities, in particular in Europe, especially in places with some vicinity to their home countries, or for delivery in-county, with a particular interest from women.

Social, political and ethical aspects of working with certain countries should be brought into the thinking about why we want to establish a partnership for transnational education projects. Making the relationship strong and fruitful will take a long commitment, possibly decades, and it will be necessary to be clear with the client about the red lines that we will not cross and the objectives and the method of collaboration.

Collaboration, Partnership and Delivery: A Recipe for Success

Session 2 

“Useful information and practical tips from colleagues who have wide experience in the region.”

The session was chaired by Prof Sara Mole (Professor of Molecular Cell Biology, Group Leader, Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, UCL) and explored some of the practical considerations on working in the region and establishing successful overseas collaborations. Hannah Balogun (Director of Human Resources, UCL Qatar), Kevin Coutinho (Athena SWAN Manager, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Team, UCL), Jonathan Dale (Director of International Leadership Development, Institute of Education), Alex Hall (Legal Counsel, UCL), Richard Homer (Head of Global Mobility, UCL), Jack Lightle (Acting Head of Student & Academic Services, UCL Qatar), John-George Nicholson (Business Manager, MSEC) were part of the panel discussion.

The need to conduct a thorough due diligence process before establishing any partnership was discussed at length, as well as the need to involve all key stakeholders and identify contacts who will facilitate operations and who are the right signatory for agreements. Stakeholder management is a key activity to take care of, since much of the success of these overseas projects is based on developing mutual trust in the relationship, a real interest from the stakeholder and a genuine interest from the provider.

Values and ethics were brought into the conversation: if we want to establish a fruitful dialogue it is necessary to distance ourselves from our own concept of values and ethics and look at it from the destination countries’ point of view. It is necessary to take into consideration what choices people need to make, and be aware of both cultures’ sensitivities. In the words of Kevin Coutinho, “in order for dialogue and successful relationships, we need to understand the perspectives that people come to us with, and we have to challenge ourselves to listen.”

Research, Innovation and Impact: Exploring UCL’s Regional Contribution

Session 3

 “Excellent case studies… great opportunity to network. Valuable information and insights into societal change in Qatar.”

Dr Ian Scott (Director, Grand Challenges and Cross-Disciplinary Development, UCL) moderated session three, which provided an insight into some of the research projects UCL is delivering and their impact within the region. Prof Murray Fraser (Professor of Architecture and Global Culture, Bartlett), Prof George Grimble (Principle Teaching Fellow, UCL Division of Medicine), Prof Dina D’Ayala (Professor of Structural Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering), Dr Georgios Papaioannou (Associate Professor, Museum Studies, UCL Qatar) presented some of their projects.

How do we ensure impact and sustain this when the research itself is completed? Depositories of datasets and ground-breaking collaborative projects with local organisations play a big part in ensuring there is ongoing impact locally; for example the UCL Qatar – Qatar Museums, Cultural Heritage Law Project will create a law in Cultural Heritage for Qatar to facilitate protection and promotion of the local cultural heritage for the years to come. The continuation of collaborative professional education programmes and research projects will also leave a lasting footprint behind.

Dr Grimble provided a case study demonstrating the impact, over a number of years, of graduates from UCL’s Masters in Nutrition programme and the lasting impact of this in the region and elsewhere.

UCL alumni in the region and elsewhere are a living legacy of UCL’s teaching and research initiatives.

It was suggested that establishing UCL centres of innovation in the region would be a good initiative for capacity development. This could be achieved with well-organised and well-taught distance learning activities, as well as by establishing research clusters.

Realising Our Global Opportunities: Case Studies with International Application

Session 4

“[The event] challenged UCL thinking and considered what we could learn.”

Roger de Montford (Managing Director, UCL Consultants) chaired the last session, which drew on the outcomes from the day and explored emerging global opportunities and the approach to these, with the presentation of case studies from MENA with international application. Dr Sam Evans, John-George Nicholson, Prof Norbert Pachler (Pro-Director: Teaching, Quality and Learning Innovation, UCL Institute of Education) and John Richards (Associate Partner, Cushman & Wakefield) presented their case studies.

Traditionally, international enterprise activities fall within the academics’ remit. The case studies presented showed that this can be challenging and demonstrated the importance of having a dedicated person to progress business development and enterprise activities – a person who needs to have the skills to identify a market and opportunities, deal with all the aspects of its development and establish proper relationships with local stakeholders.

Sam Evans and Norbert Pachler introduced a pilot project and the results from recent market research which showed that there is appetite across the region for establishing educational partnerships in several disciplines, Medicine, Engineering and Cultural Heritage in particular. However, it was not easy to understand how to tap into this, and whether there was an existing pool of students and research opportunities or if this needed to be created. UCL’s existing relationships in the region were also not clear which suggested the need for a thorough audit of existing UCL ventures there, in order to examine the relationship between them and possibly build on both existing skills and the strategic needs.

The day offered many angles on the different questions analysed and a rich pool of considerations, creating the basis for a continued dialogue in an area of mutual interest among the different parties involved in the event.

You can find snippets of the event on UCL Qatar’s twitter feed here

You can download the full event programme here

Dr Taku Fujiyama is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Transport Studies (UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering).

Taku has been collaborating on the development of models and algorithms for real-time railway traffic optimisation with academics from Roma Tre University.

In this edition of Ask an Academic, he tells us more about this collaboration and how he has been working to encourage collaboration between the academia and the railway industry.

Q: Can you give us a brief overview of your research project?

A: Prof Andrea D’Ariano of Roma Tre University and I have been collaborating on the development of models and algorithms for real-time railway traffic optimisation for several years now.

Real-time railway traffic control is essential for railway operations in major cities such as Rome and London where many trains are running, and delays often happen. In this City Partnership-funded project, we ran short courses and workshops on algorithms at both Rome and London to facilitate further collaboration between the academia and the railway industry.

Q: What got you interested in the subject in the first place?

A: Before joining UCL as a PhD student, I was working in a railway company in Japan where I was involved in major station development projects in Tokyo, where I designed passenger facilities (platforms, subways, and concourses). They are still there, and hopefully will be there for some time. So I was already involved in this subject when I started my PhD.

Q: How did the collaboration with Roma Tre come about?

A: Andrea and I have been in discussion to do something together since we first met. Academics are always looking for opportunities, and luckily this City Partnership gave us an opportunity. Later our common collaborator Dr Yihui Wang (Beijing Jiaotong University) joined this, so it is now a Rome and Beijing partnership for UCL.

Q: What difference do you hope this project will make?

A: This project may be different from other projects funded by the scheme. Andrea, Yihui and I would like to not only advance research collaboration but also involve more industry partners. Whilst I am already collaborating with industry partners, this project allows Andrea, Yihui and myself to increase dimensions of our academic capabilities so that we can address complex multi-dimensional issues which our industry partners face.

Q: What has been the most interesting outcome from your work with Prof Andrea Ariano?

A: As an immediate output from the project, we delivered a short course which attracted more than 80 participants – some practitioners were even from other countries including the USA. Whilst we are working on some academic papers based on discussions between ourselves, we are also hoping that we can convert our practitioner networks to some platform which harvests academia-industry collaboration.

Q: What would you say to other academics at UCL thinking of applying for Cities partnerships Programme funding?

A: This is a unique and helpful initiative, which enables any collaboration to go further. If you are lucky to have a partner in a selected city, just go for it! (And I hope that this programme will include more cities.)

By James Ashcroft

The Yenching Academy of Peking University aims to build bridges between China and the rest of the world through an interdisciplinary master’s program in China Studies. UCL History graduate James Ashcroft was among the first recipients of a fully funded scholarship to the programme. Here, he blogs about his experience at the Academy.

I still remember being asked by my then tutor Dr Vivienne Lo to forward an email to my fellow students about a new scholarship programme at Peking University. I had seen so many emails in my time at UCL that I didn’t bother to open it, so I just shared the email and left it at that. For some reason, I later on decided to open that email. I am so fortunate that I did because it quite literally changed the course of my life.

The Yenching Academy Scholarships give graduates from around the world the opportunity to experience China in a very international environment. It’s a fully funded scholarship at one of the best Chinese universities in the world. You get your flights paid for and your accommodation paid for, and you’re taken care of in the most incredible way.

Authentic Chinese experience

It’s a programme which gives you the opportunity to study alongside and make lifelong friendships with some of the brightest and most talented people you’ll ever meet. And for me anyway, it goes beyond your average study abroad programme in a way which makes it a truly authentic Chinese experience.

In my experience, the Yenching Academy Scholarships are relevant to anyone at UCL, whether or not they speak Mandarin or know much about the country. As someone who grew up with lots of friends who spoke multiple languages, it was always jarring that I could only speak English.

The Yenching Academy Scholarships didn’t seem like an obvious fit for me and I couldn’t speak a word of Mandarin at the time I applied. I also didn’t know much about China or its history. This is a really important point to make as I wouldn’t want any student to miss out because they don’t see the relevance to them.

Extremely rewarding

I grew so much during my time at PKU and always felt empowered to step up and contribute to the community of scholars and the university more broadly. One of my highlights was sitting on the executive organising committee for The Yenching Global Symposium, which brought together 100 or so Yenching scholars, alongside 50 graduates from PKU and 50 other students from around the world. The event has taken place every year since and it’s been extremely rewarding to see it become the success that it has.

My education at PKU was essentially a Masters in China Studies, and the qualification included elements of economics, history, international relations, law and society. I was also required to study four hours of Chinese a week, and could choose between attending classes taught in English, Mandarin or both.

My thesis analysed the Chinese government’s long-term development plan for the game of football in China in order to explore the intersection between economics, politics, and the country’s sense of place in the twenty-first century world order.

Incredible conversations

Education was only part of the picture though – as with any programme like this – and whenever I think about my time in Beijing, I think about the people I met there. I got a tremendous amount from speaking to my classmates, and we had the most incredible conversations and invigorating debates on some really important global issues.

When you’re living in another part of the world, these things can really bring you together. I’m still in touch with so many people with whom I studied – some even on a daily basis. I often meet up in person with Yenching Scholars when they come to London and I’ve visited a number of them in their home countries too.

Truly global environment

My time at Peking University has opened my eyes to working in the 21st century within a truly global environment, and I am certain that countless other students would benefit from this great opportunity.

I am always happy to speak to UCL students about my experiences as I feel very passionate about the university being represented each year in the latest cohort of Yenching Scholars. When that email comes round this year, please think carefully about opening it because it might change your life as well.

• Find out more about James’ experience
• Find out more about UCL Study Abroad opportunities

In this guest blog, UCL’s International Student Recruitment team explain the ways in which they connect with international students already studying here in the UK.

When considering UCL’s international engagement, it is all too easy to overlook the UK and assume that recruitment activity here is aimed solely at UK secondary school students.

But as we all know, education is one of the UK’s global strengths and international students come for all levels of study, not just university degrees. Having already made the choice to come to the UK, such students are more likely to remain here to pursue the next stage of their education, especially those who are here at school.

Feeder institution 

We meet international students at all sorts of events across the country such as recruitment fairs, roadshows and school visits. But we do not need to go far to encounter students who are interested in what UCL can offer them – students are enrolled with us already. The UCL Centre for Languages & Education (CLIE) offers Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates, which are foundation courses for high-achieving students from countries whose qualifications do not meet our direct entry requirements.

On average around half of these students remain at UCL (and typically a further 30% go on to other leading Russell Group universities), and departments are encouraged to liaise with UCL CLIE to connect with these students at an early stage.

Many students will move on to other institutions for their graduate study, but growing numbers choose to stay with us: We are our own largest feeder institution at graduate level. A Graduate Open Day now takes place every December, and other events are held later in the academic year such as information evenings organised by departments and faculties. Drop-in sessions run during the summer term which cater exclusively to UCL students wherever they are from, who are still weighing up their options and looking beyond their final year.

Open Days

There is a wide outreach programme for prospective undergraduates, and students are able to interact with UCL representatives at events across the UK. However, nothing beats the opportunity to experience UCL directly, and right now organisation is in full swing for this year’s undergraduate Open Days. On Friday 29 and Saturday 30 June and Saturday 8 September, the campus will be taken over by up to 6,500 visitors, all wanting to find out more about what UCL offers.

We welcome students from all over the world to our open days including students based in the EU and overseas. International students will be well represented and not just those who are already studying in the UK. The timing of the events coincides with the summer holidays for many schools overseas, and students from all over the world take advantage of the opportunity to explore all aspects of UCL, from the academic to the social. Current students from many different countries work as ambassadors at the event, sharing their advice and experience.

Increase in campus tours 

Not everyone can visit at this time, especially those students who live overseas, so the number of campus tours throughout the year has been increased to give more prospective international students the chance to see and experience us for themselves.

Linking with international students who are already in the UK will continue to be an important element of our recruitment strategy. Making sure that we are open for business on campus so that we build on an existing interest in the UK and turn it into a desire to come – or stay – at UCL remains a high priority.

If you would like more information on the Open Days please contact: Hayley Simpson (Graduate) and Sandra Baerens (Undergraduate)

By Abdulkadir Elmi, Abdel Mahmoud and Yasmin Abedin

Through research into global health during our Medicine degree at UCL, we were constantly faced with shocking statistics. For example, did you know that at least 50% of the world’s population do not have access to essential health services? Yet, there are more mobile phones than people in this world.

So, we asked ourselves, if most of the world’s population has access to SMS technology, can we leverage this to deliver a simple and accessible service?

So we built Beba.

The concept is simple: Beba leverages SMS technology to provide digital healthcare, beyond the hospital, to mothers and children in resource-poor settings.

Extending the reach of healthcare

Using natural language processing via an intuitive chat interface, Beba extends the reach of essential healthcare by using software to enable clinicians to ‘on-board’ mothers during their first antenatal care visit.

Once mothers are signed up, they can use our service to address their various healthcare needs. For example, mothers can retrieve their healthcare records, request or change appointments and receive tailored health advice via SMS.

Identifying red flags

Beba will also send vaccination reminders and milestone checks for her baby. Should red flag symptoms be identified, appointment booking suggestions are sent to mothers to enable immediate contact with the relevant healthcare provider.

Quality of care increases while the burden of work for clinicians decreases.

Research has shown that SMS reminders help increase the rate of medication adherence (Montes et al., 2012), non-medication treatment adherence (Balato et al., 2013), and vaccination coverage (Stockwell et al., 2014). As proposed in the ‘transtheoretical model of behaviour change’, these reminders can serve as cues to help facilitate behaviour change and improve health outcomes (Prochaska et al., 1994).

We were extremely honoured to present our company at UCL’s annual ‘Celebrating Global Engagement’ event, welcoming kind words from various senior UCL staff members including our very own Provost and President, Michael Arthur.

Improving health of newborns and mothers 

Our solution has many benefits to society. We work to strengthen existing healthcare infrastructure and improve the health of both newborns and mothers alike. Through our vaccination reminders, Beba improves the health of a society. Vaccines are essential in reducing and maintaining a low burden of communicable diseases. Prevention of diseases is key and has financial benefits: for every $1 invested in child health, the state recoups $13 over their lifetime.

The most exciting news is that we have partnered up with the charity Maternal Aid Association (Maa), and will be launching our service this summer in Bangladesh. We believe this is just the beginning of our journey in transforming healthcare for mothers and children across the globe.

Visit the Beba website 

By Yasmin Abedin

Yasmin is a fifth year Medical student at UCL. Here, she blogs about her time spent volunteering for the charity Maternal Aid Association (Maa) in Bangladesh. 

Empower (/em-pow-er/) verb
Make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

Women globally experience inequalities in all areas of society, from the workplace to healthcare.

Growing up in an all-female home, my mum instilled in me the importance of feeling positive about yourself, but also of being a force of positivity for those around you, especially women who have not had the same opportunities.

Guided by this driving force, in August 2018, I worked with the charity ‘Maternal Aid Association’ (Maa), leading their flagship project in Bangladesh, JourneyMaa.

Maa has a simple aim: to revolutionise maternal healthcare in resource-poor settings across the developing world.

Maternal health camps

JourneyMaa is a stepping-stone towards this goal and provides free maternal health camps and education to hundreds of pregnant women living in rural Bangladesh, by establishing a unique collaboration between volunteers from the UK and healthcare professionals from Bangladesh.

The maternal health camps involved conducting basic health checks, which are vital in preventing and detecting complications during pregnancy. These included blood pressure, urine dipstick and blood glucose measurements to screen for conditions such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, some of the leading causes of maternal mortality in Bangladesh.

Emotional strength

From speaking to pregnant women, I was struck by how common it was for women to miscarry and experience neonatal deaths in Bangladesh.

The emotional strength it must take to overcome such a tragedy is unimaginable. What makes this even more shocking is that with better maternal healthcare, many losses could have been prevented.

In addition to health camps for pregnant women, we provided educational seminars for young girls to tackle the deep-rooted stigma surrounding the topic of menstruation. In many cultures, including Bengali culture, women are generally considered ‘unclean’ during menstruation. 

Due to these beliefs, there are various restrictions placed on menstruating women, as well as unsafe sanitary practices that occur.

For example, menstrual rags are used repeatedly and often improperly washed without soap and dried in damp conditions, which can fester with bacteria and insects. This poses a potentially life-threatening infection risk to girls.

Combatting stigma

To address this, we delivered educational talks and created an open space for discussion about periods to combat stigma and help the girls understand how to maintain good menstrual health. It was inspiring to hear the thoughts of the girls both before and after the seminars as it highlighted how their confidence had improved when speaking about what is traditionally a taboo topic.

Pre-seminar, they were apprehensive and shy when asked about their experience with periods. However, post-seminar, the confident manner in which they were discussing menstrual hygiene was fantastic – I was moved by their enthusiasm for learning and progression.

Bottom-up approach

I believe female empowerment through education is a strong tool to make long-lasting and widespread change. Educating women and girls has positive ripple effects in society, particularly through bottom up approaches. A bottom-up approach refers to the idea that individual actions can have a huge impact when adopted by many.

The girls we spoke to were keen on spreading their knowledge to their mothers and aunts, which meant the knowledge they acquired would span across multiple generations. These girls are the ambassadors of charge that is so desperately needed.

Educating a girl is a critical investment into their future, as well as the future of their country. As stated in a UNICEF report: “When you educate a girl, you educate a whole nation”.

Working with Maa has been incredible, and I am thrilled to be working again in Bangladesh this summer as the project manager of JourneyMaa 2019. With passionate individuals at its forefront, Maa is on its way to revolutionise global maternal healthcare, one step at a time.

Dr Jennie Golding is a lecturer in Mathematics Education at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE). Her research focuses in particular on teacher development for policy change in both the UK and a variety of second and third world contexts.

Jennie regularly works with teachers, policy makers and teacher educators in developing countries to support the growth of evidence-based, effective maths education. We spoke to her to find out more about her recent work in East Africa, supported by a UCL Global Engagement Fund (GEF) grant.

You started out as a mathematician and moved into teaching – what interested you in education?

I had enjoyed working with three-18 year olds on a voluntary basis – and I think enjoying being with young people is really important. Then I began to analyse the different functions my teachers at school and university had played, and to appreciate the difference a good teacher makes to clarity and enjoyment of the subject I love.

The rest is history – except that after a long career classroom-based, but working in teacher development alongside that, in this country and the developing world, I felt I wanted to capitalise on that by moving into HE.

You were among recent recipients of UCL’s Global Engagement Funds (GEF). What led you to apply for the funds?

I have a passionate belief in the power of education to transform individuals and society – and in equitable access to that. In particular, young people can’t access 21st century science and technology without knowing mathematics in a meaningful way – and yet, many developing countries have an education tradition that majors on rote learning, and teacher as authoritarian and source of all knowledge.

The initial GEF funding enabled me to engage with, and visit, a range of teachers in Tanzania so I better understood their context – but more importantly in the long term, to meet and begin to work with teacher educators and mathematics education researchers in the region.

In August 2018 I was able to build on that visit by working with researchers from across East Africa, who identified the development of teacher educators in the region, together with the policy-related local research capacity, as the most effort-effective focus.

You were recently in Uganda, following up on the project. How did the visit go?

I was running a course for primary mathematics teacher educators from across East Africa, alongside teachers from each of Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, focusing on developing active learning with meaning-making – in ways that can be enacted in low-resource classrooms with sometimes up to 180 learners.

That took quite a lot of preparation and background work, and needs to be refined further, but was exciting, stimulating – and as always, humbling. And Uganda is such a beautiful country!

How will you measure the project’s success?

We know from a multiplicity of sources that it’s important for embedding of course learning that teacher educators and teachers take this back to their local contexts, explore, adapt and experiment with it in manageable ways; are supported to reflect on what they’re finding at frequent intervals; and gradually commit to new ways of working in collaborative ways. So all the course participants now have three months’ supported distance learning, during which they have three assignments.

Already participants are talking of the course as ‘life-changing’ for both them and their learners, but of course, the proof of any success will lie on the ground in their home contexts. Importantly, I’m also following up these teacher educators’ experiences in a systematic way together with a Ugandan mathematics education researcher, to mutual benefit since I have more research expertise than she does, but she can access participants’ experiences through use of their home language.

Along with Tanzania and Uganda, you’ve worked in countries including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Armenia and Jordan. Why do you think it’s important to work on a global scale?

Essentially, I do believe we are global citizens − and in this country, we’re exceptionally privileged in the opportunities we’ve had available to us, especially in education. So I think there’s a moral imperative to share the fruit of those opportunities. But I also believe there is always so much to be learned from working in different contexts and cultures, so that although I’ve been lucky enough to have a variety of overseas opportunities, I’ve always returned having learned at least as much as I’ve given.

Professionally, working in low-resource contexts has helped me focus on what are the essentials, the core of my work as a teacher and mathematician, and that’s been really exciting.

What’s your best memory from these global experiences?

Where to start? I think the core satisfaction has been when the mathematics has begun to make sense to teachers and teacher educators in ways they’ve not expected or experienced before.

One teacher educator in Uganda said at the end of the face to face course, ‘I had no idea there was a mathematical world out there that’s just so beautiful – and such fun’ – and if teacher educators have ‘caught’ that, there’s hope then for it to spread to young people in classrooms. That’s immensely satisfying.

By Bruce Bulmuo 

Master’s degree students at UCL Qatar have completed a UCL ChangeMakers project which offered students the opportunity to work with a school library in Doha to enhance practice-based learning for students in the Library and Information Studies program.

The students spent several months working with Al-Rowad International School to provide assessment and consultation services.

Recommendations were made to the authorities of the school on potential changes to the library to meet standards set by Qatar National School Accreditation (QNSA).

Meeting international standards 

To be eligible for full accreditation, schools in Qatar are required by QNSA to have well-resourced and functioning libraries that meet international standards. After a rigorous search, Al-Rowad International School was selected to be the first beneficiary of ChangeMakers in Qatar.

Led by Asma Al-Maadheed, the team of five students worked under the supervision of Dr. Milena Dobreva, Co-ordinator of the Library and Information Studies program at UCL Qatar, to write a library policy and install an automated library system for the school’s library.

Staff of the school were given basic training on how to operate the library system that was installed on their main library computer to ensure efficiency in the management of the library.

Fostering collaboration and innovation 

The UCL ChangeMakers project fosters collaboration and innovation to further enhance the learning experience of students. The project also forms part of commitment at UCL Qatar to prepare students for the work environment.

The project titled ‘Practice-based Team Learning through Assessing and Supporting School Libraries in Qatar’, also served as a hands-on practice for students in line with UCL’s mission of developing professionals through research based-based learning.

The students also considered the project as a form of corporate social responsibility that allowed them to give back to society the knowledge they have gained from the lecture halls.