UNIVERSITY OF SUFFOLK
The University of Suffolk is a public university in Suffolk, England. The institution was established in 2007; the current name was adopted in 2016 when it was awarded university status. The University operates at five sites: a central hub in Ipswich and secondary sites at another location in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, and Great Yarmouth (the latter in Norfolk, not Suffolk). We recognize the role that internationalization plays in enhancing excellence in research and education, the student experience and graduate employability. To fulfill this vision a wide range of approaches and activities are required: the goal to further develop the international reputation of Suffolk by creating a vibrant international community; increasing student and staff mobility; creating high quality partnerships and collaborations worldwide that provide positive contributions to our research; enhancing the educational experience of our students and; the visibility of our University. Suffolk is strategically working on increasing the participation in our mobility schemes and realises the importance of reciprocity with incoming international students and scholars is critical to success. The University of Suffolk is a Widening Participation institution with a mission to work with the local community to increase participation in higher education by raising the expectations of all potential students. The University was created to provide higher education to the people of Suffolk, and while the reach of the University has grown, the university remains committed to working with local communities to ensure that both young and mature students alike are aware of their local opportunities for studying.
Staff participating in the project
Dr. Clare GARTLAND
Dr Clare Gartland is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Suffolk. Her overarching interest is Widening Participation and identifying ways to support equitable educational progression. Her work explores how inequalities are structured and reproduced and how inequitable practices can be challenged. She has specialised in evaluation and research considering effective outreach activity with schools and colleges, particularly in Sceince Technology and Engineering (STEM)subjects, and she has contributed nationally and internationally to research and development of outreach programmes. A particular interest is the work of student ambassadors and the contribution they can make to promoting progression amongst underreprented younger students and she has published widely on this topic including a monograph, book chapters and journal articles.
Dr. Tuba GOKPINAR
Dr Tuba Gokpinar is a Research Associate in the School of Social Sciences & Humanities at the University of Suffolk. Tuba works on a research and evaluation project exploring the impacts of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Connecting STEM Teachers (CST) Programme. Her research expertise and interests are in STEM education and particularly in developing inclusive approaches that challenge existing inequalities in education. She is also an Honorary Research Associate at UCL Institute of Education and a research collaborator in Promoting Scientific Literacy of Secondary Science Students that is a multi-country comparison of climate change curricula in secondary schools with colleagues from Australia, Finland, Indonesia, Israel and New York.
Dr. Ivana Lessner LISTIAKOVA
Dr Ivana Lessner Listiakova is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Suffolk with teaching responsibilities at undergraduate and graduate levels in Childhood Studies and Education. Her expertise is in supporting inclusion, creating inclusive educational environments through training professionals, raising awareness of parents, and providing direct interventions for children.
She has got extensive experience of managing international projects under the Erasmus+ scheme. She was part of the coordinating organisation and managed several workstreams of the ASD-EAST project (2018-1-UK01-KA201-047872) – Autism Spectrum Disorder-Empowering and Supporting Teachers focused on further teacher training to promote inclusion in the countries of Eastern and Southern Europe. Previously (2011-2014) she was the national coordinator for partners from Slovakia in three European projects under the LLP Leonardo da Vinci scheme focused on enhancing competences of professionals in early childhood intervention.
Her publications (in English, Slovak and Czech language) focus on evaluation of intervention and training programmes.
Dr. Violeta NEGREA
Dr Violeta Negrea is a Research Assistant at the University of Suffolk. She has expertise in conducting systematic review studies. Her main interests are in STEM education and initial teacher training particularly in effective strategies that enhance initial teachers’ knowledge and skills for teaching and learning. Her focus has been on supporting career changers from diverse backgrounds entering the teaching profession, and on promoting equal opportunities for teaching and learning development.
Dr. Pere AYLING
Dr Pere Ayling is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Suffolk, England and her main area of interests are inclusivity, equity and social justice with several publications on topics around social class, race, inclusion, and disability. She is particularly interested in intersectionality, exploring in her studies how social class, and race intersect to (re)produce advantage and disadvantage in education and society at large. Pere has also published a monograph, book chapters and journal articles focusing on the role of international education market in the formation of elite identity in post-colonial Nigeria. Her latest publication ‘British is best: how British private schools in Nigeria construct and maintain White supremacy’ (forthcoming – London Review of education) engages with the decolonisation debate revealing the role that the international education market plays in not only in maintaining western hegemonic discourses but in invisibilising non-western scholars. Pere is also currently one of the convenors of BERA’s Race, Ethnicity & Education (REE) special interest group.