The Local Organising Committee is co-chaired by Professor Gary Spolander and Professor Richard Ingram
Gary Spolander
Professor of Social Work, Robert Gordon University
Gary is Professor of Social Work at Robert Gordon University in Scotland, UK. He qualified as a social worker at the University of Cape Town, South Africa before moving to the UK and worked in frontline practice, public health and leadership and management in both social work and the National Health Service (NHS). He has taught, as well as led and participated in number of international projects. His research interest is international social work, structural inequality, public health, mental health, children and families, early years, leadership and management in health and social care. He is Extraordinary Professor of Social Work, Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families and Society, University of Western Cape, Republic of South Africa. Honorary Professor of Global Health and Social Care, University of Keele, UK. He is co-editor in Chief of Social Work Education: The International Journal.
Richard Ingram
Professor of Social Work, University of Dundee
Richard is currently Head of Social Work at the University of Dundee where he joined in 2004. Following his training in social work he worked in children and families, education social work and adults with special support needs. He has extensive experience of international development in higher education and led Dundee Universities strategy on internationalisation including institutional partnership, recruitment and research links. Richard has extensive experience of educational leadership and research. His research interests include emotional intelligence, relationship-based practice, professional development, internationalisation, student experience and global social work. He has led research projects, published numerous books, chapters and research papers in these areas and is currently the Co-Editor in Chief of the Social Work Education journal where he led the expansion of the journals international focus and formalised the journals partnership with the European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW). Richard is the UK representative on the executive committee of the EASSW.
Joanna Santos-Petiot
Joanna is currently a Research Assistant at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Her research focuses on children and families social work, child welfare, trauma-informed and rights-based approaches, social work education, structural inequality and international social work.
Kathryn Young
Kathryn
is a social work lecturer at the University of Dundee. Prior to joining the
university in 2023 she spent 15 years working in Children and Families social
work in Scotland. She completed her training in England where
she worked as a Probation Officer.
Other members of the Local Organising Committee will be announced as they are confirmed.