Professors Without Borders Think Tank

Panel 1: How to Publish and Where

Moderator Dr. Michael Ogu

Faculty & Researcher, Babcock University

Michael is a faculty and researcher with the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Babcock University in Nigeria. He has authored several peer reviewed articles in scholarly journals, and edited volumes. He is also a recipient of the William J. Fulbright Scholarship to the United States of America (2018/19). Michael has over a decade of University teaching experience in Nigeria and the United States of America, and his areas of core research interest are in International Relations, Security Studies and Development Studies.

Panelists

Prof. Dries Velthuizen

Professor of Peace, Conflict Resolution and Security in Africa

Dries is a full Professor at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs at UNISA. Prof. Dries is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the African Security Review journal and a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy awarded for the thesis “The Management of Knowledge: A Model for the African Renaissance ” a trans-disciplinary study dealing with the management of endogenous knowledge in Africa. He also holds Masters and Honours Degrees in Strategic Studies and a BA Degree in International Politics from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Dries ‘ s current focus is the development of models, policies and practices for peace and security in Africa.

Helena Hurd

Editor, Global Development & African Studies at Routledge

Helena Hurd is the Editor of African Studies and Global Development books at Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Over the last ten years at Routledge, Helena has worked on a variety of subject areas across Routledge books, including Environment & Sustainability, and Asian Studies. In recent years, she has played a leading role in setting up a working group on Diversity and Inclusion in the Books Editorial department, creating guidelines to help the authors of the 7,000-8,000 books a year published by Routledge to be aware of these important issues within their work.

Sibabalwe Oscar Masinyana

Head of Researcher Services & Networks in Africa at the Taylor & Francis office in South Africa

Sibabalwe is the Head of Researcher Services & Networks in Africa at the Taylor & Francis office in South Africa. He joined T&F in 2014 as Managing Editor of a portfolio of African academic journals, and in 2018 was awarded the Ira Salkin Scholarship by the International Society of Managing & Technical Editors (ISMTE) for his work in educating and providing resources for professionals who are passionate about the operations of peer[1]reviewed publications. His experience includes positions as an academic, a writing consultant, a translator, a literary editor, and a manager in a startup that promoted the reprint of books at lower cost in South Africa. He is the recipient of the 2018 Morland Writing Scholarship for his creative writing and a final year LLB student at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Joanna Godfrey

Senior Commissioning editor, History and Current Affairs at Yale University Press

Joanna is a Senior Commissioning Editor for Modern History and Current Affairs in the London office of Yale University Press, where she acquires books based on original scholarly research but aimed at a wide audience of non-specialist general readers. She enjoys working both with early career scholars and more established authors. Joanna studied Modern History at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and started her publishing career at OUP in 2006. In 2008 she moved to the independent publisher I.B.Tauris where she was latterly Editorial Director. She joined Yale University Press London in 2019.

Prof. Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

Editorial Board, African Affairs; Co-editor, Journal of Contemporary African Studies

Olajumoke is an associate professor of Political Science at Babcock University in Nigeria. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr Yacob-Haliso has been the recipient of various research grants and fellowships. She is co-editor of four books including Gendering Knowledge in Africa and
the African Diaspora: Contesting History and Power (Routledge 2017) and Africa’s Big Men: Predatory State-Society Relations in Africa (Routledge, 2018). She is also editor of the Journal of International Politics and Development, and co-editor of the Journal of Contemporary African Studies. She currently serves as the acting Dean of the Veronica Adeleke School of Social Sciences at Babcock University, where she also teaches courses in international relations, peace and conflict studies and comparative politics.


Panel 2: Tips and Tools for Academic Writing

Moderator Dr. Caroline Varin

CEO Professors Without Borders

Caroline holds a PhD in International Relations and an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics, an LLM in International Law from the Universita di Bologna, Italy, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked as a lecturer, a mentor and a tutor in Europe and the UK, the United States and in Central America. Caroline has experience managing projects, organizing conferences and developing communication strategies for a variety of clients and sectors in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She has written a wide variety of articles on international security issues, has four books in print and regularly consults with governments and academic institutions. She has lectured at Regent’s University London, Richmond University, and the London School of Economics among others.

Panellists

Rachel Warnick

Lecturer

Rachel is a specialist educator and learning designer who travels the world to deliver intensive programmes focused on core skills essential to business and academic success. She has worked with many institutions, private and corporate clients in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Rachel earned an MSc in
International Management at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and spent fifteen years in business, gaining valuable experience in the finance and non-profit sectors, most notably with Goldman Sachs and the UNHCR, before returning to education. Rachel serves as a Trustee of Professors Without Borders, in addition to facilitating summer schools each year. As the President and Co-Founder of Nature Océan Indien, she also leads an NGO that empowers young people to be active change makers in restoring the environment
and combatting the effects of climate change. Rachel is a member of The Teacher Mastermind.

Dr. George E. Richards

Educator

Dr. George is an experienced Professor with over 25 years experience instructing criminal justice, crime prevention, and public administration topics to undergraduate and graduate students. Skilled in security management, distance education pedagogy, research methodology, and curriculum development. He has a strong record of working with diverse international populations. Dr. George demonstrates commitment to diversity education and inclusion.