The 15th Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) two-day workshop took place at Bournemouth University.
The workshop looked at key aspects of Nepalese Culture, Religion & Identity; Health; Politics & History; Energy, and Earthquake and Disaster Management. With a broad range of subjects covered, there was an opportunity for delegates to learn from one another,
A total of 22 papers were presented at the conference as well as several posters with speakers from across the UK and Nepal.
On the second day, a skills-building workshop took place to help potential students applying for a PhD place at universities at the UK. The keynote discussion by Pratyoush Onta who is visiting from Nepal covered ‘Challenges to studying Nepal: A tentative global status report’.
BNAC was established in May 2000 at a large meeting at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London by British academics interested in various aspects of Nepal.
Over the past decade BNAC annual workshop days have been at universities ranging from the University of Oxford, to the University of Edinburgh and Liverpool John Moores University.
Professor Edwin Van Teijlingen, Professor of Reproductive Health at Bournemouth University said, “This year BU was chosen because of its extensive research links with Nepal, especially in the field of health and media studies. Currently we have three PhD students studying aspects of maternity care (Ms. Sheetal Sharma & Mrs. Preeti Mahato) and knowledge of healthy eating in poor women (Mr. Jib Acharya). We are delighted with the ongoing links and relationships being developed between Bournemouth University and key stakeholders in Nepal.”
Among the delegates were journalists from Nepal, with the conference receiving several pieces of media coverage in Nepalese press.
