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I am a researcher, analyst, educator and author with more than ten years' experience in higher education, academic research, curriculum development, teaching, research supervision and internationalisation. I also have more than eight years' experience in project planning, development and implementation, capacity building and leadership development, youth leadership development, peace-building and work in the NGO sector.

I am an internationalisation specialist in the Department of International Education and Partnerships at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa. Prior to this role, I worked as a researcher, lecturer and internationalisation practitioner at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa (2013-2021). I have also worked on post-war capacity building and leadership development in South Sudan (2009-2013) and post-war rebuilding and youth leadership development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998-2002). Over the past two decades, I have lived and worked on four continents. Currently, I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

My research interests range from decolonisation of knowledge; higher education internationalisation; conflict analysis and conflict transformation; post-war reconstruction and peace-building; development studies; sustainable development; higher education in post-war settings; international migration; xenophobia; to social justice advocacy and activism. I have published numerous papers in academic peer reviewed journals and chapters in academic books. I have also published extensively in various media outlets around the world. Survivor of the Bosnian war, I'm the author of 'Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia' (AMACOM Books, 2008).

I have presented my academic research at numerous international conferences. I have developed and taught courses in conflict management, negotiation, mediation, transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa, post-conflict reconstruction and global studies. I have also successfully supervised more than twenty Masters students.

I hold a DPhil in Development Studies (2013) and MPhil in Conflict Transformation and Management (2009) from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and BA in History and Business Management (2006) from St. John's University, Minnesota, United States.

Experience

  • 2021–present
    Internationalisation specialist, Durban University of Technology
  • 2013–2021
    Manager: Internationalisation at home and research, Nelson Mandela University

Education

  • 2013 
    Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, DPhil, Development Studies
  • 2009 
    Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, MPhil, Conflict Transformation and Management
  • 2006 
    St. John's University, Minnesota, United States, BA, History, Business Management

Publications

  • 2018
    Disrupting coloniality: Student-led resistance to the oppressive status-quo in South Africa [with Awethu Fatyela and Thando Nkala], Universities and Conflict: The Role of Higher Education in Peacebuilding and Resistance. Routledge.
  • 2018
    Higher education in post-conflict settings, Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Dordrecht: Springer.
  • 2018
    Decolonizing knowledge in South Africa: Dismantling the ‘pedagogy of big lies’, Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies. Vol. 40. No. 2.
  • 2017
    Higher education and its international dimensions in post-conflict settings, Chapter in The Globalization of internationalization: Emerging voices and perspectives. Routledge.
  • 2017
    Global Citizenship vs Globally Competent Graduates: A Critical View From the South [with Nico Jooste], Journal of Studies in International Education. Vol. 21. No. 1.
  • 2017
    The role of higher education institutions in developing intercultural competence in peace-building in the aftermath of violent conflict [with Darla Deardorff], Intercultural competence in higher education: International approaches, assessment and application. Routledge.
  • 2016
    Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa, Transformation in Higher Education. Vol. 1. No. 1.
  • 2016
    Securitising Humanitarian Assistance and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa: A Critical Review of South Africa’s New Defence Policy, African Security Review. Vol. 25. No. 1.
  • 2015
    Higher Education in Post-Conflict Societies: Settings, Challenges and Priorities, Handbook Internationalisation of European Higher Education. Volume No. 1.
  • 2014
    Internally Driven Post-War Reconstruction and Development: The Case of Somaliland, Africa Insight. Vol. 44. No. 3.
  • 2013
    Building Leadership Capacity for Post-War Recovery: The Case of South Sudan, Journal for Development and Leadership. Vol. 2. No. 1.
  • 2009
    Teachers’ Experiences of Conflict and Violence in Township Schools: A Case Study of Walmer-Gqebera, South Africa [with Snodgrass, L], Commonwealth Youth and Development. Vol. 7. No. 2.
  • 2008
    Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia, Amacom Books, New York