Convenors

Dr Ibrar Bhatt, Queen’s University Belfast
Email: I.Bhatt@qub.ac.uk

Dr Sal Consoli, University of Edinburgh
Email: Sal.Consoli@ed.ac.uk

Dr Zhen Li, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Email: jzjli@eduhk.hk

Dr Dylan Williams, Queen Mary University of London
Email: d.glynwilliams@qmul.ac.uk

Ibrar Bhatt is Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Education & Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast. Ibrar has been working with the SRHE for nearly ten years, initially engaging with the Society as a PhD student. He served as the co-convener of the Digital University network for seven years and has been a member of the Governing Council for the last five years.

Sal Consoli is Assistant Professor in Language Education at the University of Edinburgh. Sal has been a member of the executive committee of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL), the International Association of Psychology for Language Learning (IAPLL), and the Irish Association of Applied Linguistics (IRAAL).

Zhen Li (李蓁) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Language Studies (CHL) at the Education University of Hong Kong. Zhen specialises in intercultural communication in higher education and migrant contexts and teaching Chinese as a second language.

Dylan Williams is a Lecturer in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary University of London, and a higher education researcher with a special interest in multilingualism and language education.

Network Outline

The Multilingual University Network was set up in July 2024 to serve as a platform for new developments in the burgeoning intersections of linguistic inquiry and higher education studies. The purpose of this network is to bring together researchers who are leading critical studies and debates on language in higher education, including around the imposition – or uncritical adoption – of English as a medium of instruction, political and socio-cultural dilemmas of language policies, and knowledge production in the contemporary multilingual university. We are diverse theoretically and draw from education studies, applied linguistics, intercultural communication, sociolinguistics, and policy studies. The specific aims of the network are:

• to provide an international forum for colleagues and students to debate and discuss research specifically related to language policy and practice in higher education;
• to provide opportunities for researchers working in the rapidly emerging – and converging – areas of higher education studies, applied linguistics, sociology and sociolinguistics;
• to facilitate the conversion of new research into the experiences, impacts and longer-term implications of language policies and practices in higher education sectors;
• to engage with other SRHE Networks and external bodies (e.g. The British Association of Applied Linguistics) to apply language-related research to a wide range of topics within the sector.

You can watch a recording of the network’s launch event on “Higher Education’s Language Problem”:

https://srhe.ac.uk/civicrm/?civiwp=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=699