51Âþ»­

Sumeya is Senior International Student Lecturer, based in the Faculty of Business and Law. Sumeya's role focuses on enhancing the quality of the international student experience and leading staff development initiatives in relation to learning and teaching pedagogy for international students. 

Sumeya's research expertise includes: internationalisation of higher education, decolonial studies and inclusive practice. Her research uses a critical perspective and counter-storytelling approach to disrupt deficit narratives of international students. 

Sumeya is a 51Âþ»­ Teacher Fellow and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She also holds the position of Fair Outcomes Champion for the Decolonising 51Âþ»­ project. 

Institute for Research in Criminology, Education and Social Justice

Loonat, S., & Hall, R. (2024). Disciplinary guide: Decolonial Studies. Research with International Students. Available at: 

Hall, R., Ansley, L., Connolly, P., Loonat, S., Patel, K., & Whitham, B. (2021). Struggling for the anti-racist university: learning from an institution-wide response to curriculum decolonisation. Teaching in Higher Education, 26(7–8), 902–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1911987

• Internationalisation strategies in UK Higher Education
• Experiences of international students 
• De/postcolonial studies
• Intersectionality and EDI

• Inclusive pedagogy
• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education
• Education: Inclusion and Diversity 
• Academic Writing
• Learning Development

• BA Hons Politics and International Relations
• MA English Language Teaching
• Post Graduate Certificate- Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
• Doctoral Researcher

Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy

51Âþ»­ Teacher Fellow

Faculty of Business and Law BAL of the Ball Awards 2023- Outstanding Contribution to International Engagement Award

Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CAITE) 2023 Winner, Decolonising 51Âþ»­ 

Green Gown Awards 2023 Winner, Decolonising 51Âþ»­ 

UKAT (UK Advising and Tutoring) member

Academic Innovation Project 2023-2024, Pedagogical uses of generative AI tools to enhance the Academic English skills of international students (in collaboration with colleagues from the Centre of English Language Learning and Library and Student Services)

Academic Innovation Project 2023-2024, The impact on Muslim students of the current Student Loans regime on student engagement and retention in Higher Education (with Professor Richard Hall and Yusraa Maryam)

Loonat, S., and Hall, R. (2024) Reimagining pedagogies with international students: Anti-racist perspectives. Decolonising Academic Practice Workshop, Birmingham City University

Loonat, S., and Hall, R. (2023) Reimagining research with international students: Anti-racist perspectives. Research with International Students Conference, University of Manchester 

Loonat, S. (2023) Decolonising the international student experience, Reimagining Higher Education: Journeys of Decolonising, Decolonising 51Âþ»­ conference.

Loonat, S & Towlson, K (2022) Creating an anti-racist university: D51Âþ»­ two years on, sharing progress and impact, Advance HE Learning and Teaching Conference, July 2022

Basra, H, & Loonat, S (2022) Decolonising More Than Just the Curriculum-Tips and Tricks, Nottingham Trent University and London Metropolitan University, June 2022

Basra, H, & Loonat, S (2022), A Toolkit to Build an Anti-Racist University-Decolonising 51Âþ»­ Tips, Tricks and Takeaways, 51Âþ»­, May 2022

Loonat, S, Cai, X, Zhang, D (2022) Building a sense of belonging for international students: insights from International Student Lecturers, UKAT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, April 2022

Basra, H, & Loonat, S (2022), Decolonising 51Âþ»­-Sharing Good Practice York, St John University, February 2022

Hall, R & Loonat, S (2022) NHS Pharmacy Education Summit: EDI, Decolonising 51Âþ»­: Building the Anti Racist University

Basra, H, Croft, M, Loonat, S & Towlson K (2021) Keynote: Decolonising 51Âþ»­: Building the Anti Racist University, 51Âþ»­ Business and Law TaLEnt conference, July 2021

Basra, H, Croft, M, Loonat, S & Towlson K (2021) Decolonising 51Âþ»­: How we can make our teaching truly inclusive, Advance HE Learning & Teaching Conference July 2021

Basra, H & Loonat, S (2021) Creating an anti-racist classroom, Race Equality Colloquium-Decolonising Pedagogy, Advance HE, June 2021

Loonat, S, (2021) Language and Learning: Breaking Barriers to Success, Open University Inclusive SIG, April 2021

Loonat, S, Cai, X, Zhang, D (2021) Language and Learning: Breaking Barriers to Success, UKAT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, April 2021

Craig, J, Honeyman, V, Loonat, S, Statham, A, Williams, H (2021) Roundtable: Futures of Political Studies Education in the UK, Political Studies Association, March 2021

Basra, H, & Loonat, S (2021) Decolonising More Than Just the Curriculum, Midlands Academic Practice Group, University of Birmingham, March 2021.

Loonat, S, & Towlson, K (2021) Storytelling as the practice of freedom: A transgressive pedagogy to enable decolonising in the classroom, 51Âþ»­ Learning & Teaching Conference, February 2021

Basra, H, & Loonat, S (2021) Developing an Anti-Racist Pedagogy through a PGCAP. Edinburgh Napier Learning & Teaching Seminar Series

Loonat, S, Cai, X & Zhang, D (2021) What you say matters: assessing unconscious bias in academic language, 51Âþ»­ Learning and Teaching Conference, September 2020