Meet Evelyn Oginni, Lecturer in People Management at the University of Salford. Originally from Nigeria, Evelyn came to Salford to study her PhD and decided to transition into lecturing full time after being an hourly-paid academic at the University.
Q: Nice to see you Evelyn! So, how did you get into academia as a career path?
A: I started my PhD in 2018 at the University of Salford and during that period I was considering whether to go into lecturing or the industry. I had the opportunity to apply to be an hourly paid academic at Salford. So, I said to myself: ‘why not let me give it a shot to see if it is something that I would enjoy and be passionate about.’ I started teaching a Salford in December 2020 and I just fell in love with teaching. I felt like I was making a difference.
Q: Why did you choose to work at the University of Salford?
A: I chose to work at Salford because of sense of belonging. During my doctorate programme at the University of Salford, I had a pleasant experience, amazing supervisors and I had support from other people working at Salford. As an hourly paid academic then, I had amazing colleagues who were incredibly supportive and always ready to help. This made me feel like I belonged here.
Q: What’s the best thing about being an academic at Salford?
A: Besides the students, I would say my colleagues. Every morning, I look forward to going to work because of my colleagues, the support I receive from everyone here is the best thing about working at Salford and I am fortunate to have an amazing line manager and a good team to work with.
Q: What’s your current research about?
A: My field of expertise revolves around human resource management as well as gender studies and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Currently, I am collaborating with a few colleagues on two projects. One is on organisational support for women in academia who are going through their maternity journey: I’m working on this paper now. The other research project , which is still in the initial stages, is on the work life balance of female academics at the University of Salford.
Q: And finally, the all important question: where in Manchester or Salford is best to grab a coffee?
A: I would say Chapter One Books. It is in Manchester, close to Piccadilly Gardens: it’s a small coffee shop where you can just have a hot drink and read a book.
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