Research groups at ITLSIG

Bio to come.

Josephine Gabi (She/Her/Hers) is a Reader in the School of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University. Grounded in Black feminist thought and antiracist praxis, she is dedicated to challenging disembodied pedagogy in HE and undoing forms of coloniality in curricula and relational encounters. Josephine embraces solidarity as a tool of resistance to the matrix of domination as a critical orientation towards liberated futures. Her work advances co-thinking and learning that facilitates relational agency. Josephine is a Trustee of UKAT & chair of the UKAT Equity & Inclusion Special Interest Group, UKAT Recognised Senior Advisor and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE). Josephine is the co-editor of Who Are You Without Colonialism? Pedagogies of Liberation (Information Age Publishing, October 2023). She is also the Coordinator of the ITLSIG EDI Research group.

Bio to come.

Wu Shuangjiao is an associate professor from the School of English Language, Zhejiang Yuexiu University. She teaches interpreting and translation courses, and her research interests includes corpus-based translation studies and audiovisual translation studies. She has published articles in the field of translation studies, and is a principal investigator of several research projects. 

Samson Damilola Fabiyi received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K., in 2018 and 2022, respectively. He is currently a Teaching Fellow with the School of Computer Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research interests include pedagogy, computer vision, machine learning, hyperspectral imaging, software development, and internet applications.

Valeria Vargas is a Senior Lecturer on Academic Development at the University Teaching Academy, Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research is multidisciplinary and focused on organisational change, institutionalisation processes, governance and integration of sustainable development in higher education. She has conducted higher education policy review at institutional, national and international level whilst also developing and implementing institutional policy at Manchester Metropolitan University and supporting policy development for education in Colombia. She has experience of working in research projects and activity to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and education for sustainable development in a range of contexts and settings.

Dr Shirley Ann Gauci is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) within the Institute of Community Services at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST).  She contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and supervises research within the institute and the Applied Research and Innovation Centre. Additionally, she serves as a Master’s dissertation supervisor and examiner at the University of Malta.

Shirley graduated with a B.Ed. (Hons) from the University of Malta, specialising in Early and Middle Years. She later pursued a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Management at the University of Leicester, where her studies included action research on interdisciplinary curriculum integration in primary education.  Building on her academic foundation, Shirley pursued a PhD at the University of Sheffield, specialising in ECEC, supported by a fully-funded scholarship. Her doctoral research focused on the pedagogy of thinking, curriculum change and the reculturing process in schools.

Before joining MCAST, Shirley had extensive experience in primary school leadership, serving for several years in the roles of Deputy Head and Head of School where she was actively engaged in curriculum development, pedagogical leadership, and school improvement.  In these roles, she has led various European projects focused on literacy, well-being, and digital literacy in ECEC and primary education.

Shirley’s current research focuses on ECEC curriculum change, inclusive leadership in ECEC, intergenerational learning and teacher training in higher education.   She is an active member of local and international research groups exploring ECEC, higher education, and innovative approaches to teacher training. Shirley is currently leading a locally funded transdisciplinary project called Supporting Early Childhood Education in Blue Skills with Generative Artificial Intelligence (SELBI) that bridges artificial intelligence, blue skills and ECEC.  She regularly presents her research at international conferences, contributing to global discussions on ECEC, curriculum innovation, and teacher training.  In addition to her research work, Shirley serves as a peer reviewer for local and international journals and academic books, contributing to the dissemination and advancement of knowledge in her fields of expertise.

Thuy Mason is a UK-qualified pharmacist and a passionate leader in pharmacy education, currently working as a Senior Lecturer at Kingston University. With extensive experience in hospital, community, academia, and industry settings, she has made significant strides in improving the student experience. Since becoming the MPharm course director in September 2022, Thuy has driven notable improvements in National Student Survey (NSS scores, particularly in the Student Voice category, which rose from 66.1% to 77.9%, surpassing the benchmark.

Thuy’s innovative leadership is centred on enhancing the student experience through active learning, interprofessional education, and inclusive teaching practices. Her commitment to these areas has created a supportive and engaging learning environment, ensuring students thrive both academically and professionally. Through this forum, she hopes to collaborate with colleagues to continue driving positive changes that benefit the student experience across the sector.