£30,000 British Academy funding awarded to CIHE for Nepalese project
The Centre for Innovation in Higher Education (CIHE) has been awarded funding of £30,000 from the British Academy to develop and deliver a five-day academic writing workshop to early career researchers in Nepal.
The workshop will comprise a series of hands-on teaching and support sessions on developing academic writing capacity, bid writing, networking, and article publishing for 25 Nepalese early career researchers.
The international team includes ARU’s Dr Mark Warnes and Dr Simon Pratt-Adams, Dr Lata Gautam (ARU), Dr Chandika Bhatta (University of Coventry and ARU PhD alumnus), Dr Laxman Gnawali (Professor, Kathmandu University, Nepal) Dr Lina Gurung (Associate Professor, Kathmandu University, Nepal), Dr Ganga Gautam (Associate Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal) and Dr Neeti Aryal Khanal (Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal). Also involved in the project is Honorary Visiting Senior Fellow in CIHE Professor Gina Wisker (University of Bath, Editor of Innovations in Education and Teaching International (IETI)), who has extensive experience in teaching academic writing.
Following the workshop, participants will be supported by the team via video calls, provided with constructive feedback, and their draft articles proofread and copyedited to illustrate best practice in academic English.
Principal Investigator Mark Warnes said:
“It was very much a team effort. The project lasts for a year and involves developing a week-long workshop which we will deliver in Kathmandu later in the year, with follow up support offered online.
“Research indicates that Nepalese academics don’t have adequate exposure to academic writing on social issues and indigenous knowledge and practices. One specific intention is to draw out indigenous content that has until now been absent from academic publication.
“Although Nepal has made progress in gender equality in recent years, we are particularly focused on increasing publications from female ECRs, and those from the various indigenous populations who are currently underrepresented, so a stratified sample of applicants will ensure parity between genders and marginalised indigenous groups.”
In addition to improving writing standards, the team will also provide participants with the opportunity to present at the 2026 Nepal English Language Teachers' Association Conference.
Read more about the Centre for Innovation in Higher Education (CIHE).