Ahmad Akkad

Dr Ahmad Akkad joined the Department of Education as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2023. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow and serves as a College Advisor at Blackfriars Hall. He is an Editorial Board member of Higher Education Quarterly, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and Co-Convenor of the Diary Method Community.

Ahmad holds a PhD in Education from the University of Warwick. His doctoral research employed a longitudinal qualitative design to explore the lived experiences of displaced Syrian academics, theorising their contributions to higher education reconstruction and the recovery–development nexus in conflict-affected contexts. His research spans international higher education, academic mobility, education in conflict and emergencies, doctoral education, research cultures, and qualitative methodologies—particularly diary methods.

Ahmad has taught on the MA in Global Education and International Development at the University of Warwick, lectured at universities in Syria, and collaborated with international organisations—including the Association of Commonwealth Universities and UN-affiliated NGOs—to advance refugee education in Europe and conflict-affected regions. He has also delivered research training at the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), the Qualitative Methods Hub at Oxford, and the Qualitative Research Forum at the University of Warwick.

In 2024, Ahmad received the Outstanding Contribution to the Research Environment Award at the University of Warwick, and in 2023, he was awarded a Non-Stipendiary Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.

Publications

• Akkad, (2025). “Displaced academics’ mobility and translocational positionalities: ‘Academic poverty’, ‘academic death’, and ‘academic re-existence’’, Higher Education
• Akkad, A. (In review). “FIT higher education (for) reconstruction: Contributions of displaced Syrian academics for, in, and through higher education in conflict-affected Syria”
• Akkad, A. & Chankseliani, M. (In review). “The multiplier effect: Leveraging transnational social relations through academic mobility for higher education transformation”
• Henderson, F. E. & Akkad, (In review). “Introducing the Work-related Diary Design Framework (WDDF): Methodological insights from three diary studies with ‘busy’ academics as research participants”
• Chankseliani, M., Akkad, A., Crisostomo, Hanley, N., Kwak, J., M., Melo, G. and Wang, Z., (In review). “International student mobility and poverty reduction: A qualitative study of the mechanisms of systemic change”
• Akkad, A. (Accepted 2024). “Reconstructing higher education in conflict settings: A different perspective by displaced Syrian academics”, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA
• Hanley, N., Tyson, L., Zhe, W., Akkad, A., Kwak, J., Vari-Lavoisier, I., M., & Chankseliani, M. (2024). “The impact of international mobility programmes for professionals: A systematic literature review 1960-2022”, Journal of Adult and Continuing Education
• Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Kier-Byfield, S., Burford, J., and Dangeni (2024). “Seeking supervisability: The inclusivity implications of doctoral supervisors’ engagement with prospective applicants prior to formal admissions”, Research Papers in Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2024.2349989
• Wang, Z., Hanley, N., Kwak, J., Vari-Lavoisier, I., Al Hussein, M., Tyson, L., Akkad, A., & Chankseliani, M. (2024). “How do international student returnees contribute to the development of their home countries? A systematic mapping and thematic synthesis”, International Journal of Educational Research, 125, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102330
• Burford, J., Kier-Byfield, S., Dangeni, Henderson, F. E., Akkad, (2024). “Pre-application doctoral communications: A missing dimension in research on doctoral admissions”, Educational Review, DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2024.2306950
• Akkad, A. (2023). “Academics in Exile: Networks, Knowledge Exchange, and New Forms of Internationalization” (Book Review), Journal of Refugee Studies. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article-abstract/36/4/1003/7165284
• Akkad, & Henderson, E. F. (2023). “Just another email?: The role of supervisors in Pre-Application Doctoral Communications (PADC)”. SupervisingPhDs. Available at: https://supervisingphds.wordpress.com/2023/10/17/just-another-email-the-role-of-supervisors-in-pre-application-doctoral-communications-padc/
• Akkad, A. (2022). “Displaced Syrian academics: Unheard voices in academia”, Forced Migration Review (70), p. 55–58. Available at: https://www.fmreview.org/sites/default/files/FMRdownloads/en/issue70/akkad.pdf
• Akkad, A. & Henderson, E. F. (2021). “Exploring the role of HE teachers as change agents in the reconstruction of post-conflict Syria”, Teaching in Higher Education, 29:1, 126-143, DOI: 1080/13562517.2021.1965571
• Akkad, A. & Abdulkader, A. (2015). “Gender-related differences in ‘hedges’ and ‘intensifiers’ as used by EFL learners at the Higher Institute of Languages, Aleppo University”, Research Journal of Aleppo University, No. 100, pp. 100-115

Research Projects Publications

• Chankseliani, M., Wang, Z., Hanley, N., Kwak, J., Vari-Lavoisier, I., Tyson, L. S., & Akkad, A. (2024). How Do International Student Returnees Contribute to Home Country Development? International Higher Education. 120 Anniversary Issue.
• Chankseliani, M., Wang, Z., Hanley, N., Kwak, J., Vari-Lavoisier, I., Tyson, L. S., & Akkad, A. (2024). Returning graduates do give back, but need more support. World University News
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, Kier-Byfield, S. (2023). “The Role of the supervisor in pre-application doctoral communications: Final project report”. Coventry: Department for Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/178943/
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Kier-Byfield, S., Dangeni, and Akkad, A., (2023). “Pre-application doctoral communications (PADC) projects: Final report”. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/178943/
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, and Kier-Byfield, S. (2022). “Pre-admissions doctoral communications: Professional development activity kit for working with PGR supervisors”.Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/170733/
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, and Kier-Byfield, S.(2022). “The role of the institution in pre-application doctoral communications: Project brief”. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/169426/
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Akkad, A., Dangeni, and Kier-Byfield, S.(2022). “The role of the supervisor in pre-application doctoral communications: Project brief”. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/169425/
• Burford, J., Henderson, E. F., Kier-Byfield, S., Akkad, A., Dangeni, and Mansuy, J. (2023). “The importance of pre-application doctoral communications for applicants: Project briefing”. Coventry: Department of Education Studies, University of Warwick. Available at: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/179604/