Alwiya Omar , a clinical professor of linguistics in the School of Global and International Studies , was one of at least 30 people chosen by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, IU announced.
The fellows of the program collaborate with higher education institutions in Africa on curriculum development, training and mentoring for the next generation of scholars.
“Alwiya is a great example of how faculty engagement can both benefit society and IU students, who also hope to make a lasting impact worldwide,” said Lee Feinstein , dean of the IU School of Global and International Studies in a recent release. “Her hard work and dedication not only advance the field of linguistics in the country of her birth but also benefit our students who will study the Swahili language and the countries where it is spoken.”
The program enables partnerships between scholars who are from Africa but now live in the United States or Canada, as well as scholars currently in Africa.
Omar will be participating in graduate student training for both master’s and doctoral levels, providing intensive teaching in the Kiswahili Linguistics Program, according to the University.
In addition to meeting with students in person, she will also be teaching online and supervising research for graduate students.
Omar is also the director of the Swahili Flagship Center.
She has a variety of research interests including second-language acquisition, cross-cultural pragmatics and web-based language instruction.
The project she will be in while in Tanzania is one of 31 projects that pair scholars with higher education institutions across Africa.
Omar will also be working with the State University of Zanzibar’s Chancellor Idris Ahmada Rai to explore opportunities for future cooperation, according to IU.
“Collaboration with the State University of Zanzibar enables me to give back to my home country, Tanzania, where I was born and raised,” Omar said in the release. “I am thankful to the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship promoting further this collaboration. I am also thankful to Indiana University for the opportunities it gives to its faculty and students for global and international participation.”
Kathrine Schulze
