2026 Award Winners
An ethnography of “Universiti Alternatif” in Malaysia for (re)imagining higher education otherwise by Aizuddin Anuar, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Aizuddin Anuar is an Assistant Professor at the Academy of Future Education, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He also serves as the Book Review Editor and Editorial Board Member of Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. Aizuddin previously taught at Keele University following the completion of his DPhil in Education at the University of Oxford, where he was a Doctoral Teaching Fellow and Clarendon Scholar. Situated within the field of comparative and international education, his research is concerned with postcolonialism and sustainable development, often utilising ethnographic, participatory and creative approaches. Aizuddin’s first book, “Postcolonial Education and Development in Peripheral Malaysia: Building Scientific Aspirations” – which draws on his DPhil and subsequent research – is forthcoming in September 2026 from Bristol University Press. He is currently part of the 2026 Writing Fellowship with the Ecoversities Alliance, documenting alternative practices of education for sustainable development in Southeast Asia.
Aizuddin’s SRHE-funded project aims to explore alternative approaches to higher education as the sector grapples with global “sustainability” discourses spanning neoliberalism, decolonisation, epistemic injustice and entanglements with environmental and political catastrophes. Utilising a participatory, arts-based ethnography, he will collaborate with students and teachers at Borneo Komrad’s “Universiti Alternatif” initiative in Sabah, Malaysia to document and analyse a grassroots case for (re)imagining sustainable higher education otherwise. Through close attention to the philosophies and aspirations of “Universiti Alternatif” and its community, acts of mutual learning and public dissemination via an ethnographic film, this research project seeks to contribute to decolonial praxis of higher education from the Global South.
The Ripples of Anti-DEI Action from the U.S. to the U.K.: A Comparative Perspective of Institutions and Individuals by Jeffrey Grim, George Mason University
Jeffrey (Jeff) Grim is currently an assistant professor of higher education at George Mason University, a public research university located in Northern Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Jeff earned his PhD in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, MA from Michigan State University, and BS from the University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on organizational equity issues in higher education with foci on EDI policy and practice, along with student success. Most recently, Jeff served as a visiting scholar at the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, where he also serves as a visiting fellow at Kellogg College.
This SRHE-funded project, titled The Ripples of Anti-DEI Action from the U.S. to the U.K.: A Comparative Perspective of Institutions and Individuals, will draw upon existing research I have conducted in the U.S. to understand how equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) leads in the U.K. are navigating current sociopolitical contexts of anti-EDI rhetoric and action, both professionally and personally. This work will help higher education leaders, policymakers, EDI practitioners, and scholars understand the unique experiences of EDI managers who must navigate precarious working conditions to sustain institutional commitments to justice while preserving their mental and physical health.
Generative AI and the First-Year Experience: An Ethnographic Inquiry into Learning, Academic Practice, and Skills Development, by Elizabeth Pinneh, City St George’s University of London
Dr Elizabeth Pinneh is currently a honorary researcher at City St George’s University of London. She completed a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of East Anglia and went on to do a PhD in Science at Durham University. Following this, she was a post-doctoral research scientist at Legacy St George’s University of London, focussed on antibody production in plants (HIV and Chikungunya) developing a production platform drug for low-middle income countries. She completed a post graduate certificate in Education before taking up the post of Lecturer in Higher Education and Learning Development at legacy St George’s University of London. She is an Advanced Higher Education Fellow in Teaching and Learning and her research interests are interdisciplinary education, academic transitions and inclusive curriculum development.
Elizabeth’s SRHE-funded project aims to investigate how first-year students use artificial intelligence (AI) as a learning tool in their daily study practices and address a key gap in understanding how it shapes learning by focusing on problem-solving processes, help-seeking behaviours, motivation, and skills acquisition. Given that HE pedagogy is more focused on didactic interactions with heavy emphasis on independent study, it is important to understand the role of AI in aiding students bridge the gap between novice and learner in their chosen discipline.