Assistant Professor, Global Development Studies
Faculty Associate, Centre for Global Development, Community Health and Social Innovation Hub, and South Asian Studies Institute
Commitment Leader, Refugees, Peace and Reconciliation Centre
Abbotsford campus
email GeetanjaliGeetanjali studied in Canada and the UK in the field of International Development Studies. She has taught international development studies courses at the University of Sussex (UK), as well as at Simon Fraser University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
In addition to her academic teaching, Geetanjali has worked for more than 16 years as an international development practitioner and researcher in the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and North America. Geetanjali continues to engage in international development consultancies, working most recently with HelpAge International, Right to Play International, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the British Council, and United Nations. She has also worked with donors such as Global Affairs Canada and the European Union, as well as with the Government of Mauritius.
Geetanjali actively engages with international NGOs that are based in BC and Canada, and she is a member of the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC), United Nations Association in Canada-Vancouver Branch (UNAC-V), Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID), and Canadian Association of Development Professionals (CAIDP).
Ph.D./D.Phil. Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK
“Poverty and Exclusion in an Ethnically-Plural Society – the case of Goodlands town, Mauritius”, supervised by Dr. Ann Whitehead and Dr. Elizabeth Harrison. Recipient of Overseas Research Scheme Award, and Edward Boyle/Alberta Research Scholarship.
M.Sc. Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries with Distinction, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK
“Towards Sustainable Livelihoods for small dry-land farmers in India – the role of local knowledge”, supervised by Dr. Jo Beall and Dr. Anthony Hall. Specialised in Gender and Development and Rural Development, and trained in Participatory Rural Appraisal by Robert Chambers.
B.A. Honours Specialist in International Development Studies Co-op and Major in Human Geography with Distinction, University of Toronto, Canada
Recipient of Ali Tayeb Award for Excellence in Geography.
Geetanjali has worked as a researcher for the Institute of Development Studies (UK), the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology (India), the Gender Unit of the Southern Africa Development Community (Botswana), and the Mauritius Research Council.
Current Research Projects:
March 2022-March 2024, SSHRC New Frontiers in Research Fund Special Call, Principal Investigator, $212,046, ‘Innovative community- and youth-led approaches to collect and analyze qualitative data and to support the empowerment of marginalized girls in the pandemic context in Mali and Senegal’.
Dec. 2021 to Sept. 2022, UFV Accelerate Research Fund, Co-Principal Investigator, $6000, ‘Exploring the Refugee and Newcomer Landscape in the Fraser Valley: Voices, Actions, and Partnerships’.
Oct. 2021 to Oct. 2022, UFV Strategic Initiatives Fund, Principal Investigator, $6500, ‘Capturing and Valuing the Lived Experiences of Refugees in the Fraser Valley through Digital Storytelling’.
May 2021-May 2022, SSHRC-Partnership Engage Grant, “Socio-cultural norms and gender responsive play-based education: a qualitative study of students, teachers, and families in Rwanda, Ghana, and Mozambique”, $24,947.
June 2021-September 2022, Fund for Innovation and Transformation/Inter-Council Network/Government of Canada, “Leaving No One Behind: Empowering Persons with Albinism, particularly women and adolescent girls, in rural regions of Sierra Leone”, $237,010.
June 2021-September 2022, Global Women’s Institute Grant, George Washington University (US), “Developing and piloting play-based tools and approaches for collecting evidence on gender-based violence amongst adolescents in humanitarian settings in Uganda and Lebanon”, $283,123.