We are pleased to announce that this year, the Exchange Programme 2023-24 funding has been awarded to 18 recipients. We’d like to thank each of this year’s participating member institutions and congratulate the grant recipients on their successful proposals.
The WTUN Exchange Programme runs annually and provides academic and professional services staff and PhD students the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues at a member institution of their choosing. Recipients of the Exchange Programme are allocated £2,000 to support them in their collaborative projects and this is often used as a mobility fund to allow colleagues to work face-to-face, in new research environments, and immerse themselves in the cultural landscapes of their host institution.
In the past, the Exchange Programme has led to outcomes such as student exchanges, collaborative research projects, joint publications, and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between institutions. Exchange visits have focussed on topics such as gender-based violence, embedding entrepreneurship in the curriculum, and collaborating to advance medical technologies to predict fall risks in the elderly.
We are pleased to announce this year’s exchange recipients and their exchange focus below.
Participating Member: Assistant Professor Dr Ammar Abdualla Al Hawaj, Executive Director for Communications and International Relations, Ahlia University
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr George Onofrei, Atlantic Technological University
Theme/Focus: Student mobility and gender related KPIs to promote and ‘mainstream’ equal opportunities
Participating Member: Nabila Al Macki, Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs, Majan University College
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Ammar Al Hawaj, Assistant Professor and Executive Director for Communications and International Relations, Ahlia University
Theme/Focus: Enhancing and nurturing entrepreneurship amongst women, with a focus on women from marginalised sectors.
Participating Member: Dr Hellen Venganai, Director, Gender and Diversity Centre, Women’s University in Africa
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Penny Jane Burke, Director, Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education, Global Innovation Chair of Equity and UNESCO Chair in Equitym Social Justice and Higher Education, University of Newcastle, Australia
Theme/Focus: Addressing gender disparties in higher education and gender, equity and social justice.
Participating Member: Professor Puspamitra Panigrahi, Centre for Clean Energy and Nano Convergence (CENCON), Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Ajayan Vinu, Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Materials, University of Newcastle, Australia
Theme/Focus: Designing and developing nano porous, carbonaceous materials for CO2 capture and conversion to clean fuels.
Participating Member: Dr Duangrudee Kongkitkul, Assistant Professor Civil Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Georg Aichinger, Center of Excellence Energy Research Center Wels, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Theme/Focus: Fluid Mechanics and Renewable Energy for Sustainable Energy Engineering
Participating Member: Dr Patcharawat Charoen-amornkitt, Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Christina Toigo, Professorship for Hydrogen Technology and Energy Storage Technologies, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Theme/Focus: Green hydrogen production to address contemporary energy challenges
Participating Member: Christina Toigo, Professorship for Hydrogen and Technology and Energy Storage Technologies, University of Applied Science Upper Austria
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Patcharawat Charoen-amornkitt, Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
Theme/Focus: Battery and hydrogen technology to address energy challenges
Participating Member(s): Kanokphorn Sangkharak, Associate Professor Faculty of Science and Digital Innovation, Department of Chemistry and Dr Maneelok Supandee, Faculty of Health and Sport Science, Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Thaksin University
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Jhy-Chern Liu, Vice President, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
Theme/Focus: Waste utilisation, waste management, e-waste recovery, environmental science and biotechnology. Problem-based learning (PBL)
Participating Member: Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup Sasikala, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bradford
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Suresh Pillai, Director of Health and Bio Medical Centre, The Nanotechnology and Bioengineering Division, Atlantic Technological University
Theme/Focus: Nanotechnology and bioengineering to design and develop triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) for self-charging battery-free biomedical implants
Participating Member: Associate Professor Dr Jeyaprakash Thangakumar, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Irfan Mehmood, Associate Professor in Business Analytics, Faculty of Management, Law and Social Sciences, University of Bradford
Theme/Focus: Plug-In Electric Vehicles and the use of Artificial Intelligence to predict optimal energy efficient routes
Participating Member: Dr Seyed Reza Moosavi Jafari, Lecturer, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts and Deputy Director of the Institute of Thai Southern Studies, Thaksin University
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Jhy-Chern Liu, Vice President, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
Theme/Focus: Influence of national cultural dimensions on built-in environments toward transportation sustainability enhancement
Participating Member: Dr Maria Cano Dominguez, Associate Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Built Environment (SABE), University of Newcastle, Australia
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Ar P. C. Associate Professor and HOD, School of Planning Architecture, and Design, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science
Theme/Focus: Decarbonization and decolonization of architecture for future post-carbon and post-colonial settlements
Participating Member: Dr Roziana Shaari, Associate Professor in the School of Human Resource Development and Psychology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Susan Trevor-Roper, Associate Dean for Planning & Risk Management, Majan University College
Theme/Focus: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for youths from underprivileged backgrounds
Participating Member: Shania Boom, PhD Student in the Faculty of Health Studies, University of Bradford
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor David Lubans, Centre for Active Living and Learning, University of Newcastle, Australia
Theme/Focus: Reducing physical inactivity inequality in the secondary (high) school setting.
Participating Member: Dr Esra AlDhaen, Associate Professor and Executive Director of Strategy, Quality and Sustainability, Ahlia University
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Vishanth Weerakkody, Assoc. Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Bradford
Theme/Focus: Aligning academic programmes and educational skills to the UN SDGs, considering transformational sustainable strategies.
Participating Member: Dr Eoghan Furey, Lecturer in Computing and PhD Training Programme Coordinator, Atlantic Technological University
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Jens Mueller, Vice-President for International Affairs and Transfer, Technische Universität Ilmenau
Theme/Focus: Collaborative research and training opportunities and TU Ilmenau’s Institute for Mobility Research (IMF-THiMo)
Participating Member: Kiyomi Maeda, Program Coordinator, Office of International Studies, Shibaura Institute of Technology
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Dr Samak Kaewsuksaeng, Vice President for Research and Innovation, Thaksin University
Theme/Focus: Student Mobility and exchanges and collaborative staff training opportunities
Participating Member: Dr Jacqueline Deanna Bailey, Associate Lecturer, Computing and IT, University of Newcastle
Host(s)/Collaboration Partner: Professor Werner Kurschl, Web-,Cloud Computing/Natural User Interfaces, Head of Studies, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria
Theme/Focus: Human-centred computing, virtual reality and augmented reality for innovation, industry and training.