School of Social and Political Science

Background

Albert is an Honorary Fellow in the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh and a Joint Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and University of Edinburgh which begun with the Commonwealth PhD Scholarship in 2021 and a fellowship at IASH. He is a researcher of Digital Culture and Democracy and focuses on the intersection of technologies and politics, media and development. He has two main research themes: 

The first is Technologies, Politics and Development ('digital culture, society and the state'). This work examines how technologies are transforming forms of communication, political governance and development with a bias on how citizens interact with the state. His PhD focused on how citizens mobilize online against the state and the ways the state responds through policing and surveillance. Some of the work produced in this area is a PhD on digital political activism and state repression in Southern Africa which is being converted into a monograph with Oxford University Press. His co-edited Special Issue State Surveillance of Political Activists in Africa is currently in press with the Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS). He has published papers on digital citizenship focusing on how citizens, including diasporic communities mobilise online to challenge their governments. His other projects are on digital platforms, digital innovation, gig economy and digital coloniality.

The second is Journalism and Creative Industries. This work builds up on his 10 years of newsroom experience as a journalist. he is a multi-award winning journalists and ranked among the top African journalists by organisations like Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Media Africa programme. It examines media histories and the ways technologies are transforming journalism/media culture and practice. He has published widely on this topic, taught and provided commentary on the future of journalism and media. His has published two co-edited volumes: Technologies and Media Production Cultures and The BBC's Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change. His other projects are on the 'legacy and future of global public media' and 'Tech companies and compensation for traditional media'.

Teaching and supervision (2019 onwards)

Albert has been teaching at three universities namely, University of Edinburgh, University of Witwatersrand and University of Malawi. He teaches comparative politics, journalism and media studies, research methods and international development.

University of Edinburgh

• Honorary Fellow, Centre of African Studies
• Affiliate, Edinburgh's Centre for Data, Culture & Society
• Affiliate, Edinburgh Futures Institute (Media & Communications Cluster)
• Research Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities (IASH)
• Commonwealth Scholarship PhD Fellow, Centre of African Studies

Modules: The Internet and Society (UG)

                  Introduction to Political Data Analysis (UG)

                  Key Skills in Development Practice (MSc)

                  Interpreting Development: Institutions and Practices (MSc)

                  International Development: Research Design and Practice (MSc) 

                  Politics and International Relations 1A: Concepts and Debates (UG)                 

Supervision

Yichi Zhang, MSc in International Development. Digital finance and women empowerment in Indonesia and Kenya. Centre of African Studies. Graduated in 2024.

University of the Witwatersrand   

• Research Fellow, Department of Politics
• Sessional Lecturer, Department of Politics
• Senior Tutor and Tutor, Department of Politics
• Coordinator, Journalism Masters Research Seminars
• Coordinator, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) 

Modules: Introduction to Comparative Politics (UG)

                 Research Methods and Research Ethics in Political Studies 

                 Conflict, Stability & State Building in Post-colonial Africa (UG) 

Student supervision

Cecilia Nthala, PhD in Politics. Philanthropic Humanitarianism, Political Expediency and Gender Justice in Malawi. Co-supervisor Prof Joel Quirk, Department of Politics (ongoing). 

Jimmy Kainja, PhD in Journalism and Media Studies: Representation of Vampire, Witchcraft and Albinism Beliefs in Malawian Newspapers. Co-supervisor Dr Nechama Brodie, Wits Centre for Journalism (ongoing).

Tinashe Kuyeri, BA (Hons) in Politics. Political Transitions and Independence of the Reserve Bank of Malawi. Department of Politics. Graduated in 2024.

Tintswalo Chauke, BA(Hons) in Politics. Diplomacy, Security and Intelligence Practices during Cold War in Africa. Awarded a Distinction score and received the Joe Ebrahim Prize for the Best Honours Dissertation award. Department of Politics. Graduated in 2024.

University of Malawi

Modules: Political Economy of Development Communication: Third World governments, Donor Aid, NGOs & Communities  (MA).

                  Print Media in Development: Theory and Practice (MA).  

Nation Publications Limited

• Investigative Journalist (Solutions Journalism), Features Analyst, Reporter (2009-2019) 

Professional Projects 

Since 2018, I have been running projects for professional development targeting activists, journalists and politicians in Africa in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Media Africa programme (South Africa), Multilateral Dialogue Programme(Geneva) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Over €65 000 has been raised and spent on training journalists, activists and politicians in Africa in areas such as political speech writing, strategic communication, elections coverage and investigative journalism. 

Currently, with funding from KAS Geneva, we are training African journalists in reporting the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review which is an important mechanism for monitoring how governments are performing in protecting and promoting human rights in their respective countries. Some of the countries that have benefited from this initiative include Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan.

In 2024, I won the IASH Susan Manning Grant at Edinburgh (with additional funding from Wits) and brought together Wits and Edinburgh universities and 13 authors for a special issue project with JSAS.  

Book Projects 

Monograph        

• Digital Political Activism and State Response: A Southern African Perspective, (on contract) with Oxford University Press.

Published books

• Sharra. A., and Akpojivi, U. (Eds.) (2025). Technologies and Media Production Cultures: A Global South Perspective. Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South. ISBN 978-3-031-78582-5
• Sharra. A., Kainja, J., and Gunde., A. (Eds.) (2025). BBC’s Legacy in African Radios: Continuities and Change. Routledge African Media, Culture and Communication Studies. eBook ISBN 978-1-041-01739-4.

Special Issue

• Sharra. A., Karekwaivanane., G. and Quirk,. J. (Eds.) (in press). Digital State Surveillance of Political Activists in Africa. Journal of Southern African Studies. 

Selected publications

Sharra, A., Kainja, J., and Mavuto Gunde, A., (2025). Introduction: The BBC’s Legacy in Africa: Continuities and Change. Routledge African Media, Culture and communication Studies. Taylor & Francis.

Sharra, A., Kainja, J., and Mavuto Gunde, A., (2025). Torn Between Multiple Interests: Correspondents and the BBC legacy in Africa. Routledge African Media, Culture and communication Studies. Taylor & Francis.

Sharra, A., Kainja, J., & Gunde, A. M. (2025). Conclusion: Decolonising the African Radio, Prospects and Challenges, 32. Routledge African Media, Culture and communication Studies. Taylor & Francis.

Sharra. A., and Akpojivi. U.,(2025). Introduction: Media Culture and Practice in the Digital Age. Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South. eBook ISBN 978-3-031-78582-5.

Sharra. A., and Tembo. T., (2025). Towards Automation:News-Wrap Implementation at Malawi's Nation Publications. Palgrave Studies in Journalism and the Global South. eBook ISBN 978-3-031-78582-5.

Phiri, E. I., Nkolokosa, M., Kanyangw’a, M., & Sharra, A. (2025). Digital First in Malawian Newsrooms: A Comparative Analysis. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Sharra, A., & Akpojivi, U. (2025). Conclusion: Technologies and Journalism in African Newsrooms. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Nyangulu. D., Sharra. A., (2023). Agency and Incentives of Diasporic Political Influencers on Facebook Malawi. In: Reidl M., Lukito. J., Woolley. S., (eds). Social Media + Society

Sharra. A., (2023). Digital First As a Coping measure for Malawi's Print Newspapers in New Journalism Ecologies in East and Southern Africa. Palgrave Studies  in Journalism and the Global South. 

Sharra. A., (2023). Media, Ethnicity and Electoral Conflicts in Kenya by Jacinta Mwende Maweu. Review. University of Oxford Press

Sharra. A., (2023). From Bush War to Fighting Graft. In: Joseph Odindo (eds). Journey, Journalistic Experiences of African Media Practitioners. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Sharra. A., Matsilele T. (2021). This Is a Laughing Matter: Social Media as a Sphere of Trolling Power in Malawi and Zimbabwe. In: Mpofu S. (eds). The Politics of Laughter in the Social Media Age. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Sharra. A., (2020). Eyes of the Society: How Malawian Journalists Utilise Question Time During Political Press Briefings, African Journalism Studies, 41:3, 49-64. 

Sharra. A., (2020). Watchdog Role: How Malawian Media Utilise Question Time During Press Briefings. Published by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Media Africa programme. 

Sharra. A., (2019). Vampires in the News: A Critical Analysis of News Framing in Malawian Newspapers, African Journalism Studies, 40:2, 67-82.