We are delighted to welcome new colleagues Chioma Dibia, Ameena Almeer and Vivian MacDonald to join our Global Community Team. Edinburgh Global continues to evolve through 2022 with the creation of several new roles which aim to support strategic initiatives for our global community of staff, students and visitors. Vivian MacDonald joined the team as our new Global Community & Staff Immigration Adviser, while new staff members Chioma Dibia and Ameena Almeer, who are also current PhD students at the University, will be working as our At-Risk Scholar Liaisons. The new colleagues will work alongside Sarah Hoey, Deputy Head of Global Community. Vivian who joined the Community team full-time in September 2022 will manage the Staff Immigration Service, providing crucial advice to international staff and visitors to help navigate the UK Immigration system, whilst also working on wider global community projects. Chioma and Ameena will be providing additional practical and pastoral support to at-risk academics including pre-arrival and induction activities. The creation of these new team posts follows the University of Edinburgh’s recent commitment to host a further 10 at-risk academics through our Fellowship scheme with Cara (the Council for At Risk Academics) . Chioma and Ameena will be working with our existing and new Cara fellows on a part-time basis until summer 2023. About Vivian Vivian graduated from the University of Stirling with a degree in Molecular Biology before taking an accelerated degree in Law, working abroad in China and occupying a variety of teaching roles, an experience which would motivate her future career. After returning to Scotland, Vivian became an immigration caseworker, helping to assist those directly affected by crises (including those recently affected by the invasion of Ukraine) to find refuge in the UK, a role she considered to be “worthwhile and fulfilling.” Vivian was motivated to join our Edinburgh Global team so she could work towards providing a more welcoming environment for staff and visitors at the University, especially during times of hardship and difficulty. About Chioma Chioma is a first-year PhD student at the School of Law and her research focuses on how racism shapes the operation of mental health legislation in relation to Black people in England and Wales. She is passionate about research and teaching, and believes that academics should have the freedom to carry out their work without fear of violence, persecution or discrimination. She hopes that as an At-Risk Scholar Liaison, she can help academics who can no longer carry on this important work in their home countries by providing them with information and support which will help them integrate rapidly into the University where they can continue to contribute to the advancement of education through their research. About Ameena Ameena is a first-year student in the Law PhD program and is focusing her compliance work on international labour and women's rights law in Qatar. She intends to pursue a career in academia and hopes that her role as an At-Risk Scholar Liaison will allow her to gain a more holistic understanding of the personal challenges faced by academics from various cultural contexts (including Middle Eastern countries like her own), outside of the difficulties usually associated with conducting and writing research in an office or classroom. The Global Community team are delighted to have Vivian, Chioma and Ameena join Edinburgh Global at this pivotal time to utilise their valuable experience. Find out more about the work of the Global Community team Contact the Staff Immigration Service Our work with Cara The Principal’s announcement about the University's commitment to host a further 10 at-risk academics This article was published on 2024-06-24