GCDC Termly Update Summer 2022
In this issue: • Thrilling first talks • Congrats Dr. Zheng! • Cracking a hard nut
Summer update
message from Dr Beth Breeze GCDC director
The past few years have been tough for everyone for obvious reasons: the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing environmental emergency, and heightened concern about racial- and social-justice have been joined, since early 2022, by the tragic consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine. These are desperately difficult times for all those who are directly affected by these and other global problems, such as the over 70 million forcibly displaced people. Fortunately, amidst the gloom, we have lots of updates to share in this Summer 2022 edition of our Newsletter which help bring to life the efforts being undertaken by our extraordinary students. Two bring me particular delight that I want to mention here: Firstly, we are celebrating the success of one of our first cohort, Huawei Zheng, who has achieved his PhD in Politics and International Relations. Dr Zheng’s thesis examines the Eurasian Economic Union as an evolving regional actor. We’re so proud of you Huawei! Secondly, we are extremely delighted and very grateful to share the news that we are able to recruit a new cohort of students.These four new scholarships will soon be advertised, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming four more of the brightest doctoral talent to our campus in January 2023.
Read Beth’s full message: https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/gcdc-director-summer-2022-update/
What’s been happening at the GCDC? Theresa Bachmann
Congratulations, Dr. Zheng! We send our sincere congratulations to Huawei, member of the first PhD cohort, who successfully defended his dissertation “The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as an Order-Making Actor (OMA): Implications for the Changing International Order”. We are proud of our first ‘GCDC doctor’ and wish Huawei only the best for all his future endeavours!
Training in Intercultural Research Practice GCDC Deputy Director Frank Grundig and students of all cohorts were joined by Prof Ayse Uskul (School of Psychology) and Dr Judith Bovensiepen (School of Anthropology and Conservation) for a very insightful training session on intercultural research. Input on intercultural factors to be considered in survey and qualitative interview practice by our guests were followed by a Q&A which greatly benefited from the diverse disciplinary backgrounds of our members. A big thanks to our guests, Ayse and Judith!
Funding for four GCDC PhD scholarships The GCDC is excited to be joined by four more international PhD students from January 2023 onwards! This is possible thanks to two philanthropyfunded scholarships fundraised by GCDC director Beth Breeze which have been matched with internal university funding. Reasoning on the value of research Two GCDC fellow students, Basma El-Doukhi and Valentina Manente presented at the symposium “Communicating the value of research” held by the Kent School of Architecture on Friday the 24th of June. Basma and Valentina had the chance to present creatively their topic of research and engage in a fruitful discussion with academics from different backgrounds, pondering on their role as academics in the dissemination of knowledge and what does research mean to them.
My first talk at a conference Kameshwari Chengan A few weeks ago, I was accepted to give a talk at the 3rd Synthetic Biology of Natural Products Conference held in Mexico, in which my supervisor was an invited speaker. This was my first international talk, but most importantly my first talk ever! My PhD project involves the development of new technologies for discovering antimicrobials to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections which is estimated to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. The conference theme was the interface of (meta)genomics, synthetic biology and natural products discovery and development.
Having never presented to a large audience before, I felt a massive adrenaline rush. As I started flicking through my slides, my passion for the project took over and the words flowed. The best part of this experience was the discussion that followed my talk. I was approached by Principle Investigators and PhD students to talk more about my work. I felt like I belonged in this scientific community. This conference was a memorable experience. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Simon Moore, and co-supervisor Prof Mark Smales for the support. I also thank the conference organizers for this opportunity.
Final group picture from the conference © Kameshwari Chengan
Read more at: https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/my-first-talk-at-a-conference/
A story to be told Basma Taysir El Doukhi I am Basma Taysir El Doukhi, a third generation of Palestinian Stateless refugees who was living in the Rashidah Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon and a UN humanitarian professional. I look forward to sharing my untold personal and professional story. This past year at Kent has been a massive learning experience, a journey of self-discovery, selfexploration and sharing my vision for a better inclusive future where all enjoy our human rights and live in full sense of dignity, agency and self-worth. One of the special highlights of this year was supporting and dancing at Amal’s walk, showing solidarity with displaced children in the UK and worldwide, sending a message through academia that these displaced children are not alone. Seeing children, communities and academics engage in the walk was for me and for so many children a signal in the path of social change. Basma posing with the puppet Amal during the event “Amal’s walk” © Basma Taysir El Doukhi
I was very proud and grateful to use my lived experience as a refugee child who lived in a refugee camp denied of my human basic rights and my professional experiences listening and supporting displaced children in conflict countries as a bridge connecting and bringing people together for better understanding and action. Read more at: https://research.kent. ac.uk/gcdc/a-story-to-be-told/
Ethnography and displacement in Bogotá,Colombia Sam Shirley-Beavan
Aerial view of Bogotá © Sam Shirley-Beavan
The aim of my ethnographic project in Bogotá, Colombia is to investigate what drug and drug policy-related harms people who use smokeable cocaine experience, and what strategies might mitigate them. The nature of the research – with a stigmatised and criminalised population – means that I have put emphasis on personal introductions to new participants, starting from my two primary local contacts. Over the past decades, conservative mayors of Bogotá have sought to forcibly ‘clear’ sites where people who smoke cocaine congregate and live. After the latest major operation, no new focal point of the community emerged.
The absence of a physical centre of the community presents a challenge to my ethnographic project. There is no single place where I can ‘hang out’ (ethnographically speaking) to engage the research population, who are now dispersed around the city. This requires a more conceptual definition of the ethnos under investigation, rather than one delimited by a single bricks-andmortar research site. This situation has made necessary, rather than preferable, my strategy of deliberately and gradually building out from a network of two: through them, I’ve been introduced to service providers, who in turn introduce me to people accessing their services.
Read more at: https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/ethnography-and-displacement-in-bogota-colombia/
This issue’s graph
Europe’s progress towards the SDGs
Source: eurostat https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/wdn-20220523-1 Evaluation period: 2016-2021
Student profile Huawei Zheng
Huawei Zheng joined the GCDC in September 2018. His PhD, supervised by Professor Elena Korosteleva, examined the Eurasian Economic Union as an evolving regional actor. He reflects on his experience with the GCDC and his future prospects.
“It was really a great pleasure to be one of our GCDC students and to finish my research within four years. Thanks to our generous funding, our supportive GCDC team and staff, my time spent with Kent was enjoyable and memorable. I will soon have my job talks with two publishers: Frontiers (for Young Minds), and the Tsinghua University Press (academic centre). Although I have decided to leave the academia, working in publishing will still enable me to be close to knowledge production, and to use my skills gained during my PhD. So, my message to our GCDC fellows: Enjoy your time here and make the most out of your PhD. This might be the last period when you can be fully committed to your research and something you love. Good luck everyone. Wish that everyone will get through till the end and have a successful viva!” Read the full article https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/phd-profile-huawei-zheng-2/
Cracking a Hard Nut: reflections on the first year of my PhD Danushka S. Medawatte In this reflection piece, I explore my academic and personal experiences as a as a Global Challenges Doctoral Scholar in the first-year of PhD at Kent Law School. Viewing my experiences as falling into two ends of a spectrum as delights and trials, I examine Transitional Justice’s (TJ) chasms between its theory and practice which have occurred due to ethnic and communal angles of problems occupying a place of prominence in transitional contexts thereby pushing gender dynamics into a secondary space. I further explore how my experiences of facing acute racism resulting in a brief passage of homelessness has now become both a trial and a delight that has validated my intent to use postcolonial feminism as a lens with which I should examine TJ’s gaps.
Conducting a consultation in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka as the National Lead Consultant on Women, Peace and Security- 30 September 2019 © Un Women, Sri Lanka
I also succinctly explain how the academic and personal aspects of my life are interconnected with the two core sustainable development goals (SDG) that define my work – SDG 5 on gender equality, and SDG 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions. I end the piece focusing on the current economic and socio-political crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka which has added unexpected nuances to my work and life thereby becoming another trial and a delight.
Read more at: https://research.kent.ac.uk/gcdc/cracking-a-hard-nut-reflections-onthe-first-year-of-my-phd/
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