Grand Finale and Gala Event: Intergenerational discussion
About this in-person event
This event will bring together a panel of academics to interact with students and share their experiences of how they have overcome societal challenges to succeed as people from minority ethnic backgrounds in the United Kingdom. This will serve to inspire and motivate students who may be looking to follow in their footsteps. In line with this year’s theme, panel members will also have the chance to talk about aspects of their achievements and identities they are proud of.
Panel members include:
Professor Emmanuel Idowu, Head of School of Nursing & Healthcare, University of Bradford
Prior to starting at the University of Bradford in 2021, Professor Idowu worked at Anglia Ruskin University UK, University of Brighton UK, London South Bank University UK, University of London UK and National Health Service (NHS) UK. He has significant public sector professional experiences, with over 30 years of managing and developing range of diverse and complex healthcare services, clinical education, and staff development in the health services in the United Kingdom (UK) and Qatar. In the UK, he worked as an independent management consultant in Primary Care Trusts in London and West Midlands. In these roles, he undertook, and managed projects concerned with healthcare reform for managing long-term conditions.
Dr Marcus Chilaka, Assistant Professor (Public Health), University of Bradford
Dr Chilaka is passionate about public health and contributing to people’s health and wellbeing (in the widest sense) through teaching, research and management techniques. His main research interests are in health impact assessment, health needs assessment, and the wider social and environmental determinants of health.
Dr Pedi Obani, Lecturer in Law, University of Bradford
Pedi has worked in the higher education sector since 2012, collaborating extensively with academics in Nigeria, South Africa, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, among others. Between 2019 and 2020, she worked with the United Nations University – Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) as a Research Fellow in Environmental Policy, developing and leading the institution’s workstream on knowledge for quality natural resource governance in Africa. Her research interests revolve around inclusive development and sustainability, including the interactions between law and climate change, governance of water and other natural resources, gender inclusiveness and intersecting forms of human vulnerability.
Dr Fiona Meddings, Associate Dean Equality, Diversity & Inclusion FoHS / Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer in Midwifery
Fiona is a Senior Lecturer, in the School of Allied Health Professions & Midwifery, having joined the University in 2001 as a midwifery lecturer. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Council Registered Nurse (dormant) and Registered Midwife (live) having worked in clinical midwifery practice prior to joining academia. She is Programme Lead for the Pre-Registration BSc & MSc in Midwifery Studies, which in 2016 was one of only 3 programmes in the UK to offer a direct pre-registration master’s (level 7) route to midwifery practice.