York St John University lecturer wins International Scholarship
York St John University Principal Lecturer in Psychology,
Dr Jacqueline Akhurst, has been selected as one of the successful
recipients of a Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2012 International
Scholarship, announced on Thursday 24 May 2012.
Dr Akhurst has a passionate commitment to the
development of Community Psychology in the UK. She said: “I
am thrilled to have been chosen for the HEA International
Scholarship Scheme. My project aims to investigate ways of
supporting students' learning when engaging in community based
learning in Africa, addressing the impacts on students' development
and knowledge related to employability. The work will also
reflect on what learning in this way might teach us about enhancing
local community engagement in the UK and integrating such work into
psychology programmes.”
The award programme has been created by HEA to
support the development of learning and teaching across UK higher
education. Jacqueline will deliver specific outcomes for
dissemination within the UK sector at the end of her scholarship,
after spending time in South Africa at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal and in Tanzania at St John’s University of
Tanzania.
Professor Craig Mahoney, Chief Executive of
the HEA, said: “I am delighted to announce these prestigious
awards. The award winners will work closely with the HEA over the
coming months and years to help us to make a real difference to the
learning experience of potentially thousands of students.
“The landscape of UK higher education
continues to change at a rapid pace and it’s vital that we can
share learning, not just from the UK but from around the world, if
we are all to continue to meet the diverse needs of our students
and those who teach them. I’m confident that the research
outputs from our new Doctoral programme, whether from
discipline-specific or generic pedagogic research, will have a
significant impact on both policy and practice. I look forward to
working with our award winners as they develop and carry out their
projects.”
Full list of award winners is available
on the HEA website.
For further press information please contact Louise
McKenzie, PR & Communications Officer on T: 01904 876466 or
E: l.mckenzie@yorksj.ac.uk
