Meet Sami Safadi, Senior Postgraduate Academic Tutor here at Salford Business School.
After teaching in Saudi Arabia for ten years, Sami developed an academic interest in understanding how we can embed decolonial principles in higher education and decolonising education.
Sami is also the host of Salford podcast, Belonging in a Business School: Life at Salford, where he connects with students and colleagues from all backgrounds to explore their lived experiences and what belonging means to them.
In this blog, Sami reflects on his career journey, key milestones and how he became the academic he is today.
How did you get into academia as a career path?
I think I had always been considering teaching and education in some way, and I also wanted to move abroad, so I took an opportunity teaching in Saudi Arabia’s higher education sector. This was my entry into academia and I loved it! I spent nearly ten years as an academic in Saudi Arabia’s universities before moving back to the UK.
Once I moved back, I knew I wanted to continue working as an academic, but I wasn’t sure about the path as I had been out of the UK for so long. Now, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and I’m thankful for the opportunities academia presents, in terms of being able to contribute to change.
Why did you choose to work at the University of Salford?
I had moved back to the UK and was exploring how I might shift from teaching in Saudi Arabia’s higher education system to the UK’s higher education sector. I saw a fixed-term contract in professional services at Salford Business School for a really interesting role, which drew on some of the areas I had worked on in academic quality assurance abroad. The role seemed new and exciting, full of potential, and as a fixed-term opportunity, I felt it was a good chance to familiarise myself with UK higher education.
I was in the role for a few months before Covid hit and everything changed. I saw everyone pull together to support students and each other through the crisis. Salford colleagues really became a community and I knew I wanted to continue working here.
After that, I realised I missed teaching and being an academic. An opportunity came up at Salford, so I was able to move back into an academic role and stay at the University.
What’s the best thing about being an academic at Salford?
I’m not sure I can define just one thing easily but, if I had to, it would be the opportunities which I’ve had being an academic here. I’ve been able to develop my own focus and scope in different ways.
My academic practice is around learner development, but my academic focus for the past few years has been on embedding decolonial principles in higher education and decolonising education.
Being an academic at Salford has provided me with opportunities to develop my work, merge my practice, and engage in interdisciplinary activities which has been amazing. For example, I’ve led school and institutional work in this area, developed resources, curated a podcast series, and been able to work with different colleagues and students across the sector.
This is what is amazing about being an academic here – being able to contribute to defining my own academic journey and interact with brilliant colleagues and students. Opportunities don’t just happen, it takes people who offer support, time and effort to be able to take advantage of those opportunities.
Can you tell us about any of your career highlights to-date?
One highlight is the people I’ve been able to work and engage with. I lead an amazing team of postgraduate academic tutors who are a privilege to work with. I am also blessed to have worked with a number of senior leaders and colleagues who have been a constant source of support here at Salford. More importantly, I have worked with brilliant students and have been honoured to be part of their journey through teaching, supervision and other projects.
Another highlight is my work on decolonising higher education. It is through this work that I have been able to deliver an institutional pilot, create an e-course (Decolonising through Reflexive Practice), contribute to numerous academic conferences across the UK, organise decolonising education symposiums, and develop a podcast exploring stories of belonging. Also, linked to my work on decolonising education and centring stories as knowledge, has been my involvement in organising the Palestinian Heritage events with students and colleagues for the past few years, which is always the highlight of my year.
What’s your current research focused on?
My current research centres around decolonisation in higher education. I have three papers that are currently in review: two explore academics’ perceptions of decolonising practice, and the other presents an alternative approach to reflective practice through a framework I developed called RIHLA. I also have a book chapter coming out, hopefully, later this year.
In addition, I am hoping to start my PhD soon to further my journey as a Salford academic. This will explore sustainable business education and coloniality through a decolonial framing.
Do you have any published papers we can read?
I have a paper that was published in 2021, exploring faculty perceptions of quality assurance in Saudi Arabia’s higher education and I have other scholarly outputs in recent years, such as conference presentations. I also currently have a few pieces of work in different stages of peer review and publication – these will be added to my profile on the University’s research repository, Worktribe.
Lastly, my podcast, Belonging in a Business School: Life at Salford, can be found on Spotify. The podcast explores the lived experiences of staff and students from various backgrounds at Salford.
And finally, the all important question, where in Manchester or Salford is best to grab a coffee?
The best place is definitely my office. I love a good cup of coffee and my cafetiere is better than any coffee spot for me. If you’re ever around Maxwell 324 and want to chat about decolonising praxis and education, drop by for a coffee!