Section: African Studies

James Smith

Name
Professor James Smith
Title
Professor of African and Development Studies: Director, Global Development Academy
Organisation
African Studies, School of Social and Political Science
University of Edinburgh
Address
4.10 Chrystal Macmillan Building 15a George Square Edinburgh UK EH8 9LD
Telephone
+44 (0)131 650 4321
E-Mail
Research Interests
International development,Development studies,Science, technology and development,African development
URL
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/african_studies/smith_james

Position

Professor of African and Development Studies. Acting director of the Centre of African Studies & Director of the Global Development Academy. 

Qualifications

1995 MA (Hons) Geography and Environmental Science (University of Dundee)

1998 MSc Geography and Development (University of the Witwatersrand)

2001 PhD Environment and Development (University of the Witwatersrand) 

Previous/Other Positions

I held a tutorship and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, worked with Oxfam Southern Africa for a while, and held a research fellowship in the ESRC Innogen Centre at Edinburgh University before moving to the Centre of African Studies, initially as a Lecturer, in 2005. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2006 and appointed Co-director of the Centre of African Studies in 2008. In 2010 I was promoted to a personal chair in African and Development Studies and appointed Director of the new Global Development Academy at Edinburgh. I am also Director of Developing Country Research in the ESRC Innogen Centre and hold Senior Visiting Fellowships at the Development Policy and Practice at the Open University and the Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies at the University of Johannesburg.

I have been an advisor on DfID's Research Into Use programme and am currently a senior advisor to the ESRC-DfID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development and a trustee at the international NGO, Practical Action. I have experience working with donors, development agencies and NGOs including DfID, IDRC, CIDA, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Oxfam and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. 

I have held visiting positions at universities in Africa and Europe. I am a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and currently chair the University of Edinburgh's Africa Strategy Group. I am involved in the University's new Academy of Government, contributing to teaching on international development. I represent the University on the Universities Scotland Scottish Collaborative Alliance for International Development committee.  


Topics interested in supervising

I'm interesting in students who are working on the relationships between scientific research, technological innovation and international development. I have particular interests in agricultural research and food security, and the governance of complex development projects. I have research expertise in sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South Asia and the Andes regions of Peru and Bolivia.

If you are interested in being supervised by James Smith , please see the links below for more information:

PhD In African Studies; PhD in Science and Technology Studies

This page was published on 9 August 2011


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