A podcast series that features the interesting work independent and emerging academic scholars. The series speaks with scholars from a variety of disciplines.
Half Time Scholars - Harvesting the Sun: Solar-Powered Irrigation for Sri Lanka’s Farmers
In this episode, we explore the intersection of renewable energy, agriculture, and climate resilience.
We’ll look at how solar-powered irrigation and agrivoltaics could transform rice cultivation in Sri Lanka.
And we’ll discuss how clean energy solutions can support sustainable agriculture, rural development, and a more resilient future.
Today, we’re joined by Ayumini Pathirage Don, whose research examines Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems for Rice Cultivation in Sri Lanka.
30 Apr 2026
Half Time Scholars - Teachers’ Lived Experiences of Climate Change in Remote Pakistan
Welcome to Half Time Scholars - On this episode we feature, Tooba Rauf is a doctoral researcher at UCL's Institute of Education, supported by the Doctoral Centenary Scholarship. Her research explores how teachers in climate-vulnerable regions of Pakistan navigate climate change and use education to build community resilience. Working within UCL's Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, Tooba bridges research, policy, and real-world impact. She is passionate about ensuring that local voices and lived experiences shape how we teach and respond to our changing planet.
Originally from Pakistan, Tooba brings a deeply personal and global perspective to her work. Having studied at universities in Pakistan before joining UCL, she understands firsthand the contrasts in educational systems and the importance of context-driven approaches to learning. After completing her PhD, she hopes to drive meaningful change through academic research, collaboration with educational institutions, and policy initiatives that put communities at the heart of climate education.
15 Mar 2026
Half Time Scholars - News Literacy in the Post-Digital Age: youth voices and Mosaic approach.
Welcome to this episode of Half Time Scholars. On this episode we feature Louise Chappe. She is a PhD researcher at University College London's Institute of Education, where she studies the relationship between media literacy education in secondary schools and how young people engage with news at home. Her research uses a unique combination of focused ethnography and a Mosaic Approach — including observations, interviews, mind maps and drawings — to capture students' voices in ways that are both ethical and effective.
Louise brings an unusually international perspective to her work. She holds degrees from three countries — a double bachelor's in law and history and a master's in international relations from France, and a master's in journalism and communication from Wuhan University in China — where she also researched how accusations of fake news are used to delegitimise media, and how journalists respond to this.
Her current PhD explores how schools can bridge the gap between classroom media education and students' real-world news habits at home — at a time when social media, algorithms, AI and disinformation are reshaping what it means to be an informed citizen. She argues that news literacy is too often left to the initiative of individual passionate teachers, sitting at the margins of the curriculum, and that this needs to change.
Alongside her research, Louise works as a French teacher and has experience in French print journalism and online media.
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