Professors Without Borders Think Tank

Access in Higher Education Initiative

Prowibo co-founder Majeks Walker founded the Access in Higher Ed Initiative in August 2020.

The objectives of the Access In Higher Ed Initiative are:

  • encouraging active recruitment and purposeful retention and promotion of talented academics from across all cultures and races in universities and research centres, particularly those from racialised minority backgrounds.  
  • creating a platform to highlight the barriers to academic access in higher education currently faced by racialised minorities and sharing strategies to dismantle these
  • establishing new partnerships with universities around the world to promote diversity of perspective and opportunities for mobility
  • maintaining a commitment to promoting access to educational opportunities for all academics

Conferences

Improving Access in Higher Education: How to Dismantle Barriers Faced by Black Talent in Academia

Prowibo held a conference on Improving Access in Higher Education: How to Dismantle Barriers Faced by Black Talent in Academia on the 28 August 2020. The conference was composed of two panels. The first panel discussed “Black In The Ivory: Understanding the Black Experience in Higher Education”, while the second panel focused on “Intersectionality: The Dual Barriers of Racism and Sexism”. Read our report here.

Publishing in Academia – Improving Access Through Information

On the 31  May 2021, Prowibo held a webinar on Publishing in Academia – Improving Access Through Information. The webinar was composed of two panels; “How to Publish and Where” followed by “Tips and Tools for Academic Writing”. The event aimed to improve opportunities and success rates for publishing in academia, particularly for under-represented academics in higher education. Read our report here.

With the information provided by the panellists, a toolkit for publishing in academia was also assembled, which can be referred to for some tips when looking to get work accepted for publication. Additionally, as part of the Access in Higher Education Initiative, Prowibo also held a Writing Workshop for Academics that began with a session on publishing, and was followed by a session aimed at improving Writing Skills.

 

If you are interested in taking part in future projects as part of this Initiative, please contact sbotha@prowibo.org