Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng BA Hons, MA, PhD, PGCert HE (FHEA)

• Office of Undergraduate Research & Enterprise (OURE), Director (2018-2022)
• Member of the University's Academic Council (from April 2022)
• Co-leading Stonewall submission (submission September 2022)

Awards/Nominations (Internal/University of Greenwich)

• Student Led Teaching Awards (SLTA) for Inspirational Teaching (2019), (2021) and for Personal Tutor (2017)
• Nomination for SLTA (Outstanding Personal Tutor, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021; Dissertation Supervisor 2017, 2019, 2021); Extra Mile Award 2018, 2019, 2020 finalist 2021); Lecturer of the Year 2021),
• Faculty awards for Student Experience (2017)
• Finalist for Vice-Chancellor’s Award (2018)
  Nominated for Vice-Chancellor’s Award (2021)

Awards/Nominations (National/International)

• International Conference Nigerian Students - Altruistic Endeavours award University of Leicester (2018)
• Recognition by University Alliance: ‘Inspiring Women’ (2021)
• Global Undergraduate Research Judge Commendation (2021)

• FHEA
• Institute of Management - Certificate in Programme Leadership
• Global Undergraduate Research Judge 2021

Research work
Louise is part of the University of Greenwich Centre of Applied Sociology.

In her capacity as Director of Undergraduate Research, Louise facilitates staff/student research collaborations. In so doing she also works with the Centre of Applied Sociology. Since she commenced the role in 2018, she has overseen 25 staff-student collaborative projects.

Her work in this area has been presented at Council of Undergraduate Research Conferences in Ohio (2019), and online in 2020. As part of this she co-facilitated and presented a paper on visible/invisible disability and undergraduate research.

Louise is working with Professor Gayle Letherby, Dr Tracey Collett and Dr Tanisha Spratt on the co-edition of a Sociology of Health Journal entitled 'Health and Illness Interactions’.

National Work
Louise provides training for students across the UK on the Stopwatch programme which addresses policy around SEARCH. In June 2022, she presented at the House of Commons - at an event chaired by Bell Ribeiro Addy MP - on leading research training for young women undertaking stop and search Participatory Action Research with other young women who have experienced it.

International Work
Louise is undertaking international collaborations with the Universities of Alberta and Sakatchewan, Canada for World Class Day, an international Undergraduate Conference. She has provided mentoring and training for students in preparation for this conference (three University of Greenwich students participated and received commendations).

She is also currently co-leading on a research partnership with the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. This will involve research and teaching exchange and collaboration.

Louise also judges undergraduate research globally and received a commendation for her work in 2021.

TV/Radio/Video

• BBC TV News and BBC Radio Drive Time (1 August 2022) - shared expertise around adultification bias
• BBC Radio (29 April 2022) - shared expertise around adultification bias in light of Child Q
• BBC London Early Morning Show - Newspaper reviewer 2018-2020
• Drop the Gap and Be More Positive. (Research Professional News 21st February 2020)
• Yanga TV, Sky (2020) British Africans and Heritage Language
• Yanga TV (2020) - Black Excellence in Education
• Arise TV (2020) - The experience of Black African Overseas students in the UK
• Self Made (2020) - 'T was told I wouldn't make it to University'
• Centre of Pan African Success (2018) Blueprints for educational success

Podcasts

• Greenwich Mind Time Black mental health matters - https://anchor.fm/greenwich-mind-time (July 2020)
• Vimeo - When your intersectionality goes against you. The story of Lisa Ann Coleman (October 2018)  https://vimeo.com/408834836
• The Sociology Show (October 2020; February, 2021 November 2021)
• Black Women’s Hour Podcast - March (2021)
• Applied Sociology Black British and Kickin’ It: Podcast Series (2020)
  • Louise Owusu-Kwarteng and Germaine Mbabi ‘Black History Mixdown’
  • Louise Owusu-Kwarteng and Vania Lourenco Thewllis – Raves and Close Shaves
  • Louise Owusu-Kwarteng and Ebony Sara - Afrodiety – Nutrition, poverty and inner city areas

Media Articles

• Louise Owusu-Kwarteng - The Conversation
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2018) When the story of one is that of many’ Autobiographical reflections of my parents migration and settlement with reference to Buchi Emecheta’s novel Second Class Citizen. https://www.pambazuka.org/pan-africanism/when-story-one-many

• PhD (2011) 'Between Two Lives' The impact of parenting on the academic, professional attainment and socio-emotional outcomes for 25 British Ghanaians'
• Owusu-Kwarteng , L (2015) 'Telling a Different Story' The effect of parenting on the academic and professional achievement for 24 British Ghanaian highflyers’ Power and Education. Vol 7 Issue 3
• Owusu-Kwarteng , L (2017) 'We all Black Innit' analyses the relationships between Black African and Caribbean groups in Britain.  SOCRES Online Vol 22 issue 2 – pp 6-19
• Owusu-Kwarteng L (2019)  ‘Educated and educating as a Black woman’ – an auto/biographical reflection on my grandmother’s influence on my academic and professional outcomes, Gender and Education, Vol 33 issue 7- pp 881-897
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2019) ‘Livin and Learnin’ Challengin’ Narratives: Critical Reflections on Engaging Students from Marginalised groups in academic research activities’ Compas Vol 12, no 1
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L, Applied Sociology Group, FLAS Office of Undergraduate Research, Sociology and Combined Honours and Education and Community Studies students (2019) ‘Livin Our Best Lives’ Students Autobiographical reflections on life in current times. University of Greenwich
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2020) 'Studying in This England is Wahala' Analysing the experience of West African Overseas Students in a UK based University.  Studies in Higher Education Vol 46 no 11 pp 2405-2416
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2020) Whoever Holds the Scissors Wields the Power, L. Women’s Studies International Forum Vol 82
• Owusu-Kwarteng L, Applied Sociology Group, FLAS office of Undergraduate Research, History and Sociology, Sociology and Combined Honours (2020): ‘When The Personal Is Political’ Linking Students Sociological Autobiographies to Broader Social and Political Contexts’
• Owusu-Kwarteng L, Applied Sociology Group, FLAS Office of Undergraduate Research, Sociology and Combined Honours students (2021) 'We Move. Perseverance Under the Pandemic' Autobiographical Collection of Students Stories of who they are and how they coped under the pandemic. University of Greenwich.
• Hewitt, L, Owusu-Kwarteng L (2021) 'Autobiographical Accounts of Students working on the Innocence Project London (IPL):
  Students Telling their stories about how the IPL affected their lives. Compass Vol 14- no 3
• Forthcoming: Owusu-Kwarteng, L ( 2022) Raves and Close Shaves. An Autobiographical reflection of my experiences in the 1990s Rave culture

Book chapters

• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2021)  ‘Stark raving Lou-nacy? Nah She was hard core – she knew the score! The Story of a Black British African Chick, who liked her raves: in Themselves Publication: Collage, or: a FAIR Day’s Fiddle. Eds: Bastion, J and Nepaul, J (2021) @themselvesonline
• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2020)  ‘Rumbles, 187 Lockdowns and Life in Isolation Central 10 (IC10)…The same as it ever was.’ Reflections on my experiences of the COVID 19 era in Together An Anthology from the COVID Pandemic. Eds. Adita, D and Otermans, P Otermans Institute. Brunel University. Uxbridge.

Book reviews

• Owusu-Kwarteng, L (2017) Book review: Uncommodified blackness. The African male experience in Australia and New Zealand. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol 41 no 8, 1523-1525

International

• June 2021 CUR ‘When OUR realities intersect’ Critical reflections of being a Black female Undergraduate research director
• January 2021 University of Greenwich Shift Conference - Students Telling their stories about how the IPL affected their lives
• June 2020 Collaboratin and Conferencin’: Using Sociological Autobiographies and Staff student collaborations to promote inclusive Educational Experiences
• June 2019 Council On Undergraduate Research ‘Livin and Learnin’ engaging students in Undergraduate research -Ohio State University
  March 2019: New Thinking Lecture Series ‘Little Raindrops Make a mighty River: The role of family, local and Central government in raising educational attainment:  Abbeam Institute of Technology, Kasoa, Ghana)  (Keynote)
• April 2019: BAME ECR conference ‘Another one in one’ Autobiographical reflections of a BAME academic in a marketised system  (Kings College, London)
• July 2018 International Conference of Critical Education; ‘Just another one in one’ Critical autobiographical reflection on my experiences as a BAME female academic
• February 2018: SOAS University of London Remembering Buchi Emecheta Conference ‘When the story of one is that of many’ Autobiographical reflections of my parents migration and settlement with reference to Buchi Emecheta’s novel Second Class Citizen.
• November 2017: University of London, in conjunction with the Universities of Greenwich and York ‘Connecting Communities Conference’ (Participatory and Action Research) Whoever Holds the scissors holds the power’ An autoethnographic consideration of my experiences in Black Hairdressers
• July 2017: College of Humanities Conference, University of Ghana Presentation: ‘Studying in this England is Wahala’
• March 2017, PSA Conference: Little Raindrops Make a Mighty River. University of Manchester
• February 2017; BSA Conference University of Manchester We All Black Innit. Analysing relationships between Black groups in the UK
• February 2007 Trinity College Dublin ‘Parenting and Educational outcomes’

National Conferences

• Forthcoming keynote speech (October 2022), University of Leeds Researcher and Development Scholarship Conference: 'Our expertise is going to waste! Reflections on dis/engagement of women and students from marginalised groups in research activity'
• May 2022, World Class Day: 'Ground Breakin' Educatin, You Makin': Using Undergraduate Research as a tool for a better educational experience and self-actualisation' (Louise also co-led the overall event which had 42 speakers and 100 online attendees)
• April 2022, Coventry University: 'Not Fitting the Brief' - An Autobiographical Reflection on my personal and professional journey, and ensuring authenticity in academia
• February 2022, BSA South West Regional Conference: ‘Taking the Proverbial’ A reflection of being diagnosed with and living with Thrombotic Cytopaenia Pupura (TTP)
• Keynote speech (20 November): ‘Me P3s3 me ko sukuu’ (I want to go to school) Breaking down boundaries around female education in Ghana  Nkunim - NGO
• July 2021: ‘Raves and Close Shaves’ Autobiographical reflections of a Black woman’s engagement in the 1990s rave culture
• March 2017, Birmingham Black Hair Festival: ‘Whoever Holds the scissors holds the power’ An autoethnographic consideration of my experiences in Black Hairdressers
• February 2017, Political Studies Association ECR conference (Birkbeck College) Presentation: ‘Little raindrops make a mighty river’  The Black and Minority Ethnic Project within the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Humanities,.
• October 2016, Challenging the Silence conference (Goldsmiths & LSE) Presentation: ‘Soul Searching in Sociology’ Reflections on the Black and Minority Ethnic Project within the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Humanities, with particular emphasis on the Sociology Programme.
• July 2016, BSA Autobiography group: Whoever Holds the Scissors Holds the Power. Wolfson College Oxford.
• July 2015, Dartington BSA Autobiography group ‘Lizbet’s legacy’ - Analysing the role of my grandmother ‘Lizbet Beyie’ in the academic and professional achievements of her female descendants
• October 2013, PhD Seminar ‘Methodological reflections on my PhD thesis: 'Between Two Lives: The impact of parenting on the academic, professional achievements and Socio emotional outcomes for British Ghanaians’ Research seminar. University of Lincoln
• February 2007, University College London: ‘Lost in Translation: Heritage Language acquisition of Second Generation British African children’

Internal

• Centre of Applied Sociology and Office of Undergraduate Research
• May 2017  ‘Brexit and Boundaries in the Barrios (neighbourhoods)?…Are we Poles apart? (May 2017), focusing on students’ perspectives impacts of Brexit at a National, local and individual level.
• May 2018 ‘Livin and learnin’ critical reflections on staff and student educational experiences’ (May 2018)
• May 2019 ‘Living your best life’
• May 2021 – We Move – Perseverance Under the Panic.

BAME STUDENT EXPERIENCE SYMPOSIA

• JULY 2015 Brighter Futures –Enhancing Opportunities for all – this included staff and student research papers
• November 2015 Telling it Like it is–analysing BME student experiences – this included reflexive accounts/research papers from BME undergrad/post grad students
• April 2016 Does my face fit – reflections from Black and Minority Ethnic academics
• October 2016 Brighter Futures – a review bringing all the themes of aforementioned events together

Other

• April 2012 – Two Generations of Resistance: West African Contribution to British AntiRacism and resistance movements at the ‘Re-Thinking Resistance’ symposium at the University of Greenwich
• July 2010 – Between Two Lives – Parental Relationships and educational attainment. University of Greenwich