About – The London Writing Academy

Welcome to my academic & study skills blog

My name is Nafisa Baba-Ahmed, I design, write and produce academic and study skills material to help you develop your writing skills at university level.

The history…

In October 2014, I decided to start blogging about my PhD pursuits and career in teaching so I started blogging as MissPhDiva which evolved into blogging about many things including advice on teaching and learning alongside important life skills.

Not long after, this turned into my academic and study skills blog LearnWithNafisa.co.uk alongside my online store where you can find my books for digital download.

In May 2020, I decided to give the blog a new name, The London Writing Academy and create a platform for you to take live classes with me in my online school.

Behind the blog…

I’m a lecturer in lifelong learning with over 10 years’ teaching experience in both adult and higher education in addition to teaching English for Academic Purposes and Professionalised Personal Tutoring in two leading UK Russell Group universities since 2015.

I have a first degree in Law LL.B (hons) and a master’s in International Law L.LM. I’m also a CELTA qualified English language tutor with a PGCE in English Language Teaching which awards me the full Diploma for Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTTLS).

I’ m currently a PhD candidate in Education Research.

My research…

As part of an initiative to build an evidence base for suggesting a restructure of the Nigerian education system, my research interests draw upon theories of critical pedagogy and the capabilities approach to analyse the poor state of the current system and in turn address social injustice in a wider context.

I’m particularly interested in the theoretical framework of Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach, in particular Martha Nussbaum’s triadic model in order to establish an educational system with teaching and learning for development of better political will. I also advocate for a better student-centred curriculum with fairer assessment practices for both primary and secondary school in Nigeria, based on qualitative research on SMART learning strategies.

My current doctoral research uses the Human Development Approach by Indian Economist, Amartya Sen in evaluating SMART target driving individual learning plans in community adult learning in the UK.

My consultancy work involves in engaging collaborative partnerships with international education agencies, in addition to both state and federal Nigerian government policy makers and, more recently decolonising academic practice both in the UK and Nigeria.

Work with me…

I work with both students and education professionals through consultations, workshops, seminars, presentations and online forums.

If you are a student and would like my professional guidance and support you can book a private consultation with me or join my academic community for live classes.

I welcome collaborations on any education research and/or projects from teachers, educators and other professionals with a particular interest in the synergy of business, education and entrepreneurship for global development – in particular education systems and models in developing countries, i.e. Nigeria, India, China. You can connect with me directly via LinkedIn to send a message.