Academy for African Studies
Professional development
Ten sessions translate conference ideas into practical skills—from systematic reviews, qualitative methods and journal publishing to leadership, trust, mentoring, motivation and wellbeing.
Room: Virtual
Drawing on UK-specific research and mentoring scholarship, this session explores reciprocal, culturally grounded mentoring for African scholars navigating UK higher education. It considers belonging, mutual support and mentoring relationships that recognise the experiences of scholars across the diaspora.
Facilitator
Room: Virtual
A reflective and practical dialogue blending systemic theory, neuroscience and personal insight. The session explores relational and cognitive frameworks for emotional wellbeing, brain-based coaching, resilience, self-worth, clarity and sustainable leadership in professional practice and team culture.
Facilitator
Room: Virtual
A discussion for scholars and practitioners on submitting articles to peer-reviewed journals. Editors will address the publishing process, what editors and reviewers look for, selecting suitable publication channels, common reasons for rejection and strategies for learning from editorial feedback.
Room: M1-022
This practical session presents LEGO® Serious Play® as a qualitative data-collection technique. Participants use physical models to communicate experiences and multiple viewpoints, helping researchers surface rich meaning, reduce premature interpretation and strengthen discussion around complex topics.
Room: M1-025
A high-impact leadership workshop focused on mindset, clarity, confidence and purpose. It introduces practical frameworks for overcoming challenges, improving personal effectiveness, building productive teams and creating systems that support sustained results.
Facilitator
Room: M2-001
An interactive workshop examining why technically sound policies may fail when citizens do not trust the institutions delivering them. The session considers the relationship between trust, governance and policy effectiveness, then uses contemporary cases to explore implementation in low-trust environments.
Room: M1-026
A practical session on gaining access to participants and organisations for research. It addresses ethics, gatekeepers, trust-building, participant recruitment and the practical challenges of conducting organisational research, with particular relevance to African and international contexts.
Room: M1-022
A practical workshop on purpose, confidence, values, relationships and the environments that influence motivation. Participants examine barriers to action and use ideas from positive psychology—strengths, meaning, hope, self-efficacy and small purposeful actions—to support sustainable performance and wellbeing.
Room: M1-025
A practical introduction to planning and conducting a systematic literature review. Topics include review questions, search strategies, study screening and selection, quality assessment, data extraction, synthesis techniques and reporting standards, with particular value for doctoral and early-career researchers.
Facilitator
Room: M1-026
A change-leadership workshop centred on collective action rather than individual heroics. It considers collaboration, trust, stakeholder engagement and the practical leadership skills required to mobilise people around shared purpose and sustainable change.
Facilitator
