XJTLU researcher receives 2026 SRHE Newer Researcher Award

Dr Aizuddin Anuar, Assistant Professor at the Academy of Future Education, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), has received a 2026 Newer Researcher Award from the UK-based Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE).

The award will support his one-year research project, An ethnography of “Universiti Alternatif” in Malaysia for (re)imagining higher education otherwise, providing research funding, mentoring from a senior SRHE researcher, and access to the Society’s academic resources.

Jointly sponsored by SRHE and Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, the annual awards support early-career higher education researchers in leading independent projects and developing their research capabilities.

“I am thrilled to be receiving this award, which will enable me to begin a new line of research exploring an alternative higher education initiative called 'Universiti Alternatif' (Alternative University) in collaboration with Borneo Komrad, a youth-led organisation that supports marginalised stateless students in Sabah, Malaysia,” says Dr Anuar.

“This research builds on my previous work on sustainable development, youth aspirations, ethnography and arts-based decolonial approaches.”

Using participatory and arts-based ethnographic methods, Dr Anuar will work with students and educators at Universiti Alternatif to examine its philosophies, aspirations and educational practices, as well as the forms of mutual learning emerging within its community.

The project will also produce an ethnographic short film for public dissemination. Dr Anuar says he is looking forward to “dabbling in filmmaking” as part of the research.

“I hope that this project will support the development of a sustained relationship with Borneo Komrad that can contribute to the initiative’s longevity and opportunities for mutual learning,” Dr Anuar says.

As higher education confronts multiple moments of crisis globally, the project will examine how alternative models at the margins might inform discussions about the university’s purpose and future.

“I hope this research will enable a richer understanding of future possibilities in higher education,” says Dr Anuar.

“By looking to alternative models at the margins, we may be able to reimagine how the university can sustain its relevance through its philosophy, mission, curriculum and impact, as well as through mutual learning and closer connections with communities and stakeholders.

“This is foremost a project for reimagining what higher education means, and I look forward to immersing myself in and learning with Universiti Alternatif.”

Dr Anuar’s research focuses on postcolonialism and sustainable development in comparative and international education. He frequently uses ethnographic, participatory and creative approaches in his work and serves as Book Review Editor and an Editorial Board Member of Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education.

Before joining XJTLU, he taught at Keele University after completing his DPhil in Education at the University of Oxford, where he was a Doctoral Teaching Fellow and Clarendon Scholar. His first book, Postcolonial Education and Development in Peripheral Malaysia: Building Scientific Aspirations, is due to be published by Bristol University Press in September 2026.

By Xiaoyan Jin