Barbara

Barbara Moser-Mercer

African Higher Education in Emergencies Network (AHEEN)

Barbara Moser-Mercer, professor emerita and founder of InZone (University of Geneva), is visiting professor at University of Nairobi, engaged in strengthening African solutions that advance Higher Education in Emergencies (HEiE) and has been coordinating the launch phase of the African Higher Education in Emergencies Network (AHEEN); she is currently also a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Center. Following her initial training as conference interpreter she pursued her studies and research in cognitive psychology, focusing on the development of expertise in complex cognitive skills of bilinguals, both from a cognitive psychology and a cognitive neuro-science perspective. These findings have been instrumental in informing the design and the development of student-centered multilingual digital learning environments and social-emotional learning programs in different fragile contexts. Building on insights and experience in a variety of displacement contexts she has studied, as well as further developed, a viable interface between humanitarian and academic actors conducive to scaling higher education opportunities for displaced youth that benefit both students and their communities and inform education policy in refugee-hosting countries. She has contributed to several of INEE’s working groups including co-chairing the Standards and Practice WG, PSS-SEL WG, DEWG, and the MS Update Reference Group.