Conferences and events

Decolonising Academic Practice Workshop Series 2025

Curzon building

Decolonising Academic Practice Workshop Series and Conference

A Part of the BCU Learning and Teaching Festival

  • Date: 3 July 2025
  • Deadline for submissions: Friday 9 May 2025, 11:59 GMT
  • Decisions will be communicated by Friday 16 May 2025
  • Format: This series will be online

“I think the notion of dreaming in a time where we are told that it is foolish, futile or not useful is one of the most revolutionary things we can do. To have our lives determined by our dreams of a free world — instead of reactions to a state-imposed reality — is one of the most powerful tools of decolonization.” Harsha Walia

The Education Development Service at Birmingham City University invites you to its fourth annual Series on Decolonising Academic Practice. This year, we are encouraging submissions from colleagues and students who want to help us re-imagine what Higher Education could look like. We are asking for submissions that propose and provoke a different way of doing pedagogy, student experience, and systems in the University.

The lecture series will consist of up to 90-minute workshop to be done online. Colleagues will be expected to facilitate their own workshop with support from BCU.

We encourage (but do not wish to limit) workshops to be submitted in the following areas:

  1. Curriculum design & delivery (subject specific, or wider learning design principles)
  2. Creating community as defiance
  3. Academic promotion, recruitment, and recognition
  4. Decolonial leadership
  5. Creating evidence (using data) to inform decolonial practice
  6. Changing the physical environment of HE Institutions

We particularly encourage submissions from those with an international perspective that can speak on their experiences and expertise having centred their own culture and learning environments. We particularly encourage discussions on pedagogical techniques used in South Asia, the Caribbean, and in Africa as this reflects the heritage of most of our student body, as well as postcolonial/anti-colonial experiences.

Submissions should be made using the submissions form.

If you have further queries, please contact Marisa Parker via email at marisa.parker@bcu.ac.uk

Previous events

Decolonising Knowledge in Academic Practice Lecture Series 2024

Browse through our YouTube playlist to view the recorded workshops.

      1. Decolonising Higher Education Practice - Keynote Speech - Dr Leon Moosavi
      2. Actions for Decolonizing Higher Education in the UK: a Systematic Review - Dustin Hosseini
      3. Decolonising Curriculum, Design and Delivery - the Reality - Dr Musharrat J Ahmed-Landeryou
      4. Is Decolonising the University Possible? - Dr Chris Lloyd
      5. Reclaiming Knowledge: Student-Led Approaches to Decolonising Education - Reece Sohdi
      6. Decolonising through Reflexive Practice - Where Are We Now? - Sami Safadi
      7. Taking Steps to Decolonise Clinical Psychology - Dr Samantha Owen & Dr Carolien Lamers
      8. Using a Black Feminist Lens to Decolonise Higher Education Practice - Dr Jan Etienne

Decolonising Knowledge in Academic Practice Lecture Series 2023

Browse through our YouTube playlist to view the recorded workshops.

      1. Do we need to deinstitutionalise first? Exploration of the issues and implications of decolonising knowledge for pedagogy (Provocation)
        2 May 2023, 12:00-12:45
        Speaker: Davina Whitnall

      2. Has decolonisation of higher education reached a dead end? (Lecture)
        2 May 2023, 1700-1830
        Speaker: Gurnam Singh

      3. Reflections on the co-delivery of new Level 4 'Belonging' module (anti-racism, diversity and equity, otherness, perspectives etc) by a duo of academics, one of whom is Queer, the other is Brown. (Provocation)
        3 May 2023, 1200-1245
        Speakers: John Boddy and Adrianne Arendse

      4. 22 reasons why we should not use the word decolonise (Provocation)
        9 May 2023, 1300-1345
        Speaker: Katie Stripe

      5. Decolonising Education Development: Opportunities and Challenges  (Provocation)
        10 May 2023, 1000-1045
        Speaker: Lucy Panesar

      6. Addressing wicked problems and decolonising knowledge through critical virtual exchange: case studies from the VAMOS project (Provocation)
        16 May 2023, 1300-1345
        Speakers: Dr Mirjam Hauck, Professor Roberto Guerra and Professor Madson Diniz

      7. Decoloniality and academic publishing (Lecture)
        17 May 2023, 1700-1830
        Speaker: Dr Amina Doudi

      8. ‘Seeing’ Coloniality in Academia’ (Lecture)
        23 May 2023, 1700-1830
        Speaker: Robert Williams

      9. How we Decolonise Knowledge: Reconstructing the Meaning of Racism for Hegemonic Whiteness in Higher Education (Provocation)
        24 May 2023, 1300-1345
        Speaker: Nikki Woods

      10. Your decolonising approach is recolonising and re-establishing the status quo (Provocation)
        31 May 2023, 1300-1345
        Speaker: Musharrat J Ahmed-Landeryou

Decolonising Knowledge in Academic Practice Lecture Series 2022

Please see below the complete information for the lecture series. View our YouTube playlist to access the recordings of all lectures, provocations and roundtable discussion.

      1. Introductory Round Table on Decolonising Academic Practice – What is it?
        3 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Chair: Prof. Peter Francis
        Speakers: Prof. Peter Francis, James Boston, Dr Harsahd Keval, Dr Talia Esnar

      2. Decolonising Engineering - Is it possible?
        5 May 2022, 12:30 - 13:15
        Speaker: Dr Tosha Nembhard

      3. The library is not neutral: reading lists, academic publishing and decolonising (Lecture)
        24 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Speaker: Caroline Ball

      4. The Decolonial Student Voice Loop
        10 May 2022, 12:30 - 13:15
        Speakers: Christina Vassell and Melanie Welaratne

      5. Reimagining Political Theory (Lecture)
        10 May 2022, 12:30 - 14:00
        Speakers: Dr Simon Choat and Manjeet Ramgotra

      6. Provocation: The role of learning design in decolonisation in academic practice
        10 May 2022, 17:00 - 17:45
        Speaker: Melissa Coley

      7. Colonialism, Decolonising, Past and Present (Lecture)
        10 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Speaker: Rita Pemberton

      8. Inclusive Practice Partnerships at the University of Brighton (Lecture)
        12 May 2022, 12:30 - 14:00
        Speakers: Dr Jo Hall and Neesha Sivaratnam

      9. Decolonising academic development at the University of Warwick: Travelling without a map (Provocation)
        12 May 2022, 12:30 - 13:00
        Speakers: Dr Letizia Gramaglia,Dr Jennie Mills, Sara Hattersley, Jess Humphreys, Dr John Kirkman, Dr Peter Fossey, Dr Kerry Dobbins, Oliver Turner

      10. Decolonising Development studies Curricula with students as partners (Lecture)
        12 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Speaker: Marie Xypaki

      11. Why transforming learning content needs political will and less rhetoric? (Lecture)
        17 May 2022, 12:30 - 14:00
        Speaker: Dr Rothney Tshaka

      12. Provocation: Decolonising academic development – “Decolonising the Curriculum through Reflexive Practice”
        19 May 2022, 12:30 - 14:00
        Speaker: Sami Safadi

      13. Moving Towards Decolonising Music Education (Lecture)
        19 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Speaker: Professor Nathan Holder

      14. Decolonising Programmes and Modules
        24 May 2022, 12:30 - 14:00
        Speaker: Professor Charlie Reis

      15. Radical Curriculum Decolonisation through Coalition and Conscious Practice - 24 May 2022, 17:00 - 18:30
        Speaker: John Boddy

      16. Black Heritage Walks
        26 May 2022, 12:30 – 14:00
        Speaker: Ms Marcia Dunkley

      17. Basic Principles of Decolonising Academic Practice (Roundtable)
        26 May 2022, 17:00 – 18:30
        Chair: Professor Julie McLeod
        Panel: Marva De La Coudray, Dr Leroy Hill, Dr Martin Glynn