Meet Dr Jonathan Kennedy, a Reader based in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. He is also a Queen Mary Academy Fellow, and tells us about his project looking at virtual international exchanges helping students in different locations learn together. Don't miss Jonathan's session at the upcoming Festival of Education (6-7 March).
I am a Reader in Politics and Global Health, based at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health. I teach on our intercalated BSc and MSc in Global Public Health degrees, and also on the MBBS. In 2023, I published a book called Pathogenesis: How germs made history, which was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Sunday Times Science Book of the Year. I have worked at Queen Mary since 2016.
My three-year-old daughter wakes me up early in the morning. After brushing our teeth, we head downstairs to eat porridge. From then on it’s a matter of balancing family life with everything that the University throws at me in terms of teaching, writing, admin, meetings and emails. Sometimes that means working late into evening or on weekends, but I appreciate how flexible the job is and the fact that the summer months tend to be much calmer.
For the past year, I have been a Queen Mary Academy Fellow. This is a programme that buys out academics’ time so that they can use it to develop, share and promote their educational and scholarship practice. The Queen Mary Academy also provide support in the form of a mentor and support from other Fellows. Being part of this programmes has been very useful as it encouraged me to think about my teaching innovation in a more strategic way.
My project looks at virtual international exchanges as a tool for giving Queen Mary students opportunities to develop their ability to communicate and work with people from other cultures.
Virtual international exchanges use online tools and platforms to allow geographically separated students – usually located in different countries – to learn together. Students still follow the curricula at their home universities; and the virtual exchange is designed to build on this knowledge- and skill-base. The key characteristic of virtual exchanges is that they emphasise experiential and collaborative student learning, encouraging students to develop intercultural competence through team-based activities.
I will be discussing my project at the Festival of Education this March in the Pecha Kucha session on 6 March, starting at 1.30pm. I have also developed a succinct QMplus module for academics who are interested in learning more about virtual international exchanges. Please email me if you are interested in finding out more.
I am based in Whitechapel, where the University buildings merge into the rest of the city. It’s a perfect place to teach public health, because you just have to walk along the high street to understand how poverty, inequality and marginalisation drive inequalities in health outcomes. I feel lucky to work in Whitechapel. It’s loud, vibrant and fascinating but more than anything I love the South Asian food: Tayyabs if I am feeling flush and Shalamar Kebab House if I am not.
Whizzing around London on my bicycle, the “red rocket”. Einstein claimed to have come up with his theory of relativity while riding a bike but he obviously wasn’t cycling in London – I don’t have time to think about anything except avoiding buses, cars, e-scooters, other cyclists, pedestrians and potholes. But the combination of dopamine and adrenaline seems to change the chemical balance of my brain and is an intoxicating antidote to academic life.
BOOK NOW: The annual Festival of Education will take place on 6 and 7 March. This year's event aims to bring Active Curriculum for Excellence to life and foster a culture of pedagogical innovation. The festival will take place in person at the Mile End campus, and some sessions will be available to join online. To find out more about the programme and to book your place visit the Festival of Education webpage.