I started my international career as a researcher and practitioner in Ethiopia and subsequently moved to Brazil and then Taiwan. As I established my base in Hong Kong (which I mixed with spending time in Australia), my international work intensified: as a consultant at UNESCO, I worked with governments, other international organisations (IOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international NGOs, and communities and youth across the world, and Asia and the Pacific in particular. I co-led the development of a strategy on Youth Engagement in Preventing Violent Extremism through Education and led the development of a framework for Together for Peace programme for Asia-Pacific. I conducted research, developed policy briefs, reports, and toolkits, and (co)led workshops to strengthen capacities of various actors (e.g., policymakers, development practitioners, teachers, youth) that work towards peace and sustainability.

 

During this time (2015-2019), I completed my PhD degree at the University of Hong Kong under the supervision of Prof. Liz Jackson and Prof. Gerald Postiglione (awarded in December 2019). My doctoral work focussed on education of Taiwan's Indigenous peoples to aid the processes of transitional and historical justice. This project emerged from my practitioner experience in Taiwan whilst working and engaging with Taiwan's Indigenous communities. I received awards for my PhD research from the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia and Oceania Comparative and International Education Society.

 

In January 2020, I moved to Scotland to join the University of Glasgow and since then have been working with research partners across the world, most notably in Africa (Benin, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania), Asia (mainland China, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines), and the Pacific (Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand). I continue my work with UNESCO (particularly for GEM, UIL, and IIEP offices) and work with other IOs (e.g., OSGEY), foundations, schools, and NGOs. As a social scientist, I find it critical to work closely with a wide range of actors and stakeholders to understand their needs and realities and to ensure a positive impact of my research.

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Whilst my research profile is diverse, it has a common focus of developing quality, equitable, and inclusive formal and non-formal education and learning opportunities that can transform societies and establish and sustain positive peace and justice. I have a particular interest and expertise in working with ethnic, religious, and cultural minorities as well as youth and communities in conflict-affected and post-conflict societies. Please read more about my past and current projects here.

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My first monograph, titled "Pathways towards justice, reconciliation, and sustainability within Indigenous education: A framework of justice for marginalised populations," is under contract with Routledge. I have published in peer-reviewed academic journals I admire (e.g., Comparative Education; Compare; Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education; among others) and in edited book collections by Routledge, Edward Elgar, and Emerald. I have also prepared commissioned reports for UNESCO and reports, a 2D animation, and policy briefs for the projects I've worked on.

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In addition to my PhD degree, I studied in Finland and Sweden and was a visiting research scholar at the University of Duhok, Iraq (2023) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States (2016).