LU scholar wins prestigious international research award

Prof Yusuf Ikbal Oldac (pictured), Research Assistant Professor of the School of Graduate Studies of Lingnan University has been awarded the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Newer Researchers Prize for his research proposal entitled “Scientific collaborations between the United Kingdom and Middle Eastern and North African countries in the post-Brexit and post-pandemic world”. He will receive funding to carry out the project, and join the Society’s Research and Development Committee for one year as a new researcher member starting from 1 January 2023.

 

The SRHE is an independent UK-based international society which aims to improve the quality of higher education. Each year the Society receives high-quality applications from a range of backgrounds, countries, and institutions, which are individually reviewed by a panel of experienced higher education research scholars.

 

Prof Yusuf Ikbal Oldac said that this is a hard-to-get, prestigious university-level award. “I felt really excited as SRHE is a globally well-known society in the field of higher education and they only grant the award to two or three people every year. I would like to thank Lingnan for providing a supportive environment to do quality research, and I am grateful to my colleagues at the office for creating a positive working environment,” he said.

 

For his SRHE-funded project, Yusuf will investigate scientific collaboration between the UK and Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Such cooperation is significant for post-Brexit and post-pandemic Britain, as at present scientific collaboration with European countries is stagnating. By contrast, the UK’s research collaboration with MENA countries, the UK’s immediate neighbours beyond Europe, is increasing. As part of the global trend of pluralisation of science systems, MENA countries have developed more productive science systems rapidly, so that increased collaboration between the UK and MENA science systems is mutually beneficial and could lead to a lasting positive impact on global science.