Zainab Mai-Bornu

Zainab joined the University in April 2021 as a lecturer in International Politics with a particular focus on the politics of Africa. She has achieved an enormous amount since then – in research-led education, in developing her world-leading research and in her citizenship role. She has made a huge difference to students by developing a module that brings African expertise into the classroom using a whole series of guest speakers, and gives our students from the African diaspora a strong sense of belonging to a learning community that is safe and inclusive. She even cooked them all a Nigerian feast!

In her role as plagiarism officer, she has taken an inspiring, supportive and positive approach that has enhanced students' learning environment. She developed a workshop for repeat plagiarism offenders, showing enormous resourcefulness and self-sufficiency as well as working collaboratively with colleagues across the University.

Her research on the role of women in Nigeria's conflicts is genuinely interdisciplinary and collaborative, and draws on a participatory methodology that amplifies the voices of poor women in the Global South. In her short time here, she has successfully applied for an ERSC IAA grant and a centenary scholarship.