Sophia is Head of Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  She is Principal Investigator for the WARIA programme, a Leverhulme Research Fellow and Visting Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg. 

Sophia's research focuses on the European Union's external relations, particularly its provision of development aid and it links to trade liberalisation. As a feminist political economist her work explores the gendered dimension of trade and of financial inclusion and poverty reduction strategies. Sophia has published a wide range of works on gender and development policy, the EU’s external relations with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group, EU and UK relations with West Africa and the political economy of trade and aid.

Emily Ikhide  is the director of the Gender Studies unit in the interdisciplinary National Institute for Legislative and Development Studies, in Nigeria. The Institute is the research arm and think tank of Nigeria’s national parliament, providing research, technical and capacity building support on different fields to members of the parliament. The work of the Institute cuts across different disciplines such as economics, social policy, public policy, law, political science, gender studies, and environmental policy.

Ikhide’s background and experiences are multidisciplinary. Her first (BA) and second (MA) degrees are in Economics while her PhD is in Development Finance. As part of her PhD research, she studied alternative and renewable energy from an economics, finance and technology perspectives. More recently, she has been leading multidisciplinary research projects on gender studies, governance, trade, agriculture and food security and youth employment. Her approach to these areas of research is multidisciplinary as she and her team explore these issues from an economic, legal, social, and gender perspectives, and using methods from different fields 

In her current role at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, she conducts research on socio-economic and political issues, and provide recommendations to members and relevant committees of the National Assembly. She has also led externally-funded research projects, where she worked with academic, researchers, policy makers and civil society organisations. Emily’s works have been presented in academic and policy conferences, and published in peer-reviewed journals..

Tinuade  is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations and the Head Unit of Pan African Women Studies at the Institute of Pan African Thought and Conversation and Institute of Global African Affairs, University of Johannesburg, where her interdisciplinary work bridges multiple fields to address complex issues related to women and gender. Ojo integrates perspectives from political science, economics, sociology, and environmental studies in her research.

As a feminist political economist, her interdisciplinary scholarship explores a broad array of topics including gender and politics, the gendered dimensions of trade and financial inclusion, sustainable development goals, digital transformation, international political economy, gender inequality, climate change, just transitions, governance and leadership, sexual health and reproductive rights (SRHR), women and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, gender-based violence, conflict resolution, migration studies, mental health and well-being, water rights, food security, and poverty reduction strategies. Her extensive publications on gender and development policy, as well as the political economy of trade and aid in Africa and Diaspora, underscore her commitment to advancing knowledge and policy in these critical areas. Additionally, she serves as a peer reviewer for esteemed scientific journals, further contributing to the academic community.

Alex is Dean of Research at Leeds Trinity Univeristy.  Prior to that he was Professor of Global Political Economy and Director of the Social, Cultural and Legal Research Centre at the University of Derby. His current research focus is on ‘the new politics of inequality’ in a number of different scalar-contexts, from micro-scale: e.g. the ways that inequalities are exaggerated or mitigated by the experience of frontline service delivery, through to the global scale: the way that international organisations reproduce or offset inequality through the uptake of their policy advice.  Some of this work currently involves innovative inter-disciplinary methods such as the use of arts and theatre techniques to gather data, secure and measure research impact with marginalised and vulnerable social groups.

Alexander is on the Editorial boards of Capital and Class and Sustainability  He was also a previous coordinator of the British International Studies Association IPEG group and is Principal Investigator on the Foundations in IPE project.

Adewale Director Democratic Studies at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Abuja, Nigeria. He holds a Bachelors in Political Science from University of Ibadan, Nigeria and MA Politics of International Resources and Development as a Guinness UK, Foreign and Commonwealth Scholar from the University of Leeds, UK. He also has a PhD from Leeds Beckett University. He has been Archie Mafeje Fellow at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) Pretoria (Tshwane), CODESRIA-APICO-CLACSO South-South Fellow Havana, Cuba and Tracking Development Fellow at the Africa Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands. He is a recipient of several research grants and has extensive consulting experience with Development Agencies.

Olayinka Ajala is a Reader in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He previously worked for the Universities of York and Newcastle. Olayinka holds a doctorate degree in Politics from the University of York and a Masters degree in Globalisation and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Olayinka consults for the Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom and was previously a visiting fellow/lecturer at the Combating Terrorism Centre, United States Military Academy, West Point. He has consulted for local and international organisations including the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the Government of Belgium. Olayinka worked  on a GCRF funded project titled ‘Catalyzing participation through innovation to strengthen rural-urban climate resilient futures in Namibia’. 

Charlie is a Lecturer in International Political Economy at the University of Leeds, UK.  His research explores how and why we understand the world as it is and how that informs our political behaviour.  His conceptual outlook is broadly in line with French Regulation school and specifically in exploring international modes of social regulation and their role in the renegotiation of the subject. Charlie has published widely on enterprise and entrepreneurship, small business and the international political economy of slavery.  Charlie is also General Secretary of the European Association of Evolutionary Political Economy.