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Get to Know Me

I've worn many hats during my career; on this website, you can search through my academic background, my teaching experiences, take a look at my training, the networks I am active in, or the events I've organised. You can download my MSSc thesis and other studies related to refugees, online community engagement as well as reports on communicating research from my events. Click on one of the links below to see more. 

​But, I'm more than my skills and training.

​Stay on this page to read on to learn a little more about me as a person and take a look at some of the snapshots of my life.

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All about me 

Contact
Email: kksumman@gmail.com 

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I've worn many hats during my career; on this website, you can search through my academic background, my teaching experiences, take a look at my training, the networks I am active in, or the events I've organised. You can download my MSSc thesis and other studies related to refugees, online community engagement as well as reports on communicating research from my events. Click on one of the links below to see more. 

​But, I'm more than my skills and training.

​Stay on this page to read on to learn a little more about me as a person and take a look at some of the snapshots of my life.

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Teacher

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Researcher

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Event Organiser 

Snapshots of my life

All Rights Reserved  ©Kirandep Kaur. Do not use photos without prior permission.  

a story about pet passions 

New Ventures

In August 2018 me and my husband adopted Felicity aka Flick. A young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Never having owned a dog before she was something of a revelation. 

She has certainly kept us on our toes and given us a lot to learn.

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Instagram

In September 2018, my husband had the idea to start Instagram for Flick as a short experiment into engagement. And then promptly decided to take a month off social media and left it in my hands to develop. I'd never even been on Instagram before. From zero followers, I learnt the tricks of the trade and as of June 2020 we have close to 8500 followers - with many more been added daily. 

Photo Credit Kiran Kaur

Outcomes

Avoiding the follow/unfollow rules, we decided to put my husband's PhD research (and my own) in community engagement as basic principles to develop our account. It was slower but leads to more genuine followers, impact-full posts and dare I say relationships.

Photo Credit Kiran Kaur

And a lot of hard work. Phrases such as potty training, working on recall, leave it!, positive-training, dominance myth, European pet passport, vaccinations schedules, scientific methods opposed to the Cesar Milan approach - and many more suddenly became a part of my daily speech.

My language changed and so did my mind-set. Who knew having a dog was an introduction to a whole new aspect of life and field of study? And, who knew her joyful way of being would soothe our at times cynical and world-weary souls?  

Photo Credit Kiran Kaur  ​

We've posted on health issues and raised awareness for mental health through our little dog account. I learnt a little more on photography (still an amateur!) and how to photo edit, learning about filters and colour theory. I soon realised this was another art form and an interesting engagement tool. The potentials for research dissemination are also intriguing. My husband (due to his PhD) focuses on engagement and I was the content creator - focusing on story and visuals. We form a good team.  

Photo Credit Kiran Kaur

Social media is now a fact of life and learning to manage it is also important as a professional. We are still learning. But seeing other researchers on instagram and my own work with photovoice I can see the potential for academic engagement through the platform. The skills I've learnt from this short venture I can already see being used in other community development settings. And with a little creativity it could become a potential useful bridge between academic research and wider communities. 

Photo Credit Kiran Kaur
Pet Projects

Doctoral Research

Please take a look at my doctoral research in Law and Development and the participatory methods used in the fieldwork

Professional Experiences

You can also see my previous professional work experiences with community organisations, teaching language and research. 

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