School of Social and Political Science

Background

Teaching

Since 2015, I have taught several undergraduate and postgraduate courses in International Development,  International Relations, Sociology and Politics and African Studies departments. As a senior tutor, I also trained and mentored new tutors.

University of Edinburgh

Postgraduate Courses:

• Politics and Theories of International Development
• Dynamics of African Development 
• Key Skills in Development Practice
• Research Design 

Undergraduate Courses:

• International Cooperation in Europe and Beyond
• International Development, Aid and Humanitarianism 
• Africa in the Contemporary World 
• Understanding Race and Colonialism     
• Swahili (2015-2020)

University of Glasgow 

• Swahili (PG Course)-2016- 2017

Università degli Studi di Cagliari (University of Cagliari), Italy

• Intensive Swahili Summer Course 2019

Research roles

University of Edinburgh

2015-2017:      Security Analyst,   SMS Africa     

• I monitored, researched, and analysed security-related issues in social media in Tanzania and provided a timely understanding of social media's role in documenting and driving (in)security in Tanzania for the ESRC-DFID-funded Social Media and Security in Africa (SMS: Africa) project. 

2017:              Researcher for "Q-Step Africa" 

• Under the Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform project, I scoped out in greater detail the needs, capacity and constraints of teaching Quantitative Methods at Universities in sub-Saharan Africa.

2018 - 2019:    Research Assistant 

• As a research assistant for the Principal's Teaching Award Scheme (PTAS) grant, I sought to better understand what kind of recorded lecture material is most effective for online learning.

Relevant professional work

2011- present:        Executive Committee Member, Britain Tanzania Society,  London.

• I sit on the Editorial Advisory Committee for Tanzanian Affairs- a current affairs magazine by the Britain Tanzania Society.
• I work closely with the executive committee in assessing the viability of project proposals submitted for funding by our local partners in Tanzania.

2015-present:         International Development Consultant 

• I work as a development consultant for national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations with a broader interest in Africa and Tanzania, in particular.

2012:                     Case Worker, House of Commons, London

• I worked as the Case Manager at the Office of Reading East Member of Parliament, where I responded to a wide range of cases from local constituents.

Selected conference presentations

• “Challenges of ethnic pluralism in creating and managing harmony in ethnically plural states.” Presented at the “Decolonising History in Africa and Africa in History: towards a more collaborative interdisciplinary approach” Conference, University of Edinburgh, March 2017.
• "On becoming African”.  Exhibited at “Afropolitan- an exploration of what Africa means to Africans at home and abroad”, Exhibition, University of Edinburgh, March 2017.
• “Social Media and Arusha Declaration in Contemporary Politics.” Chaired and presented at the “THE ARUSHA DECLARATION@50” Conference, University of Edinburgh, February 2017.

Selected publications and online articles

• Wood, A.K., Symons, K., Falisse, J.B., Gray, H. and Mkony, A., 2021. Can lecture capture contribute to the development of a community of inquiry in online learning?. Distance Education, 42(1), pp.126-144.
• Wood, A.K., Symons, K., Falisse, J.B., Gray, H. and Mkony, A., A Critical Analysis of the Role of Lecture Capture in Online Learning: A Community of Inquiry Perspective.
• “#WhatWouldNyerereDo?” Africa is a Country, Published October 2016.
• “Three Key Questions for Decolonizing the Academy.”  Reflection on the “Decolonizing the Academy” Conference, University of Edinburgh, May 2015

Scholarships and academic awards

2012 Awarded International Excellence Scholarship, Aberystwyth University, Wales.

2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 Nominated and shortlisted for the Best Student Who Tutors Award and Teacher of the Year Edinburgh University Students' Association. 

2017 Awarded Associate Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), University of Edinburgh.

2018 Awarded Alice Brown Studentship, University of Edinburgh

2019 Awarded Research and Development Fund (RDF), University of Edinburgh

Qualifications

2008: BSc (Hons) BIS with Management, Middlesex University, London.

2013: MSc Economics in International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Wales. 

2018 - Present: PhD Politics & Social Media in Tanzania, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland.