Dr Ioanna Kapantai (she/her)

About me:

I am an E&S (Education & Scholarship) Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. As part of this role, I teach a range of modules including Undegraduate and Postgraduate modules. I also supervise students on both the Undegraduate and MSc level.

I am also the Director for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team in Psychology (shared role). As part of this, I lead on several initiatives including the Academic Peer Mentorship Scheme, Mature Students Workshops, the Autism Acceptance Week Event, Neurodiversity Celebration Week Conference, the Decolonize Psychology bookclub and other.

I am also the Year 1 Tutor and the co-lead for Student Experience in the department of Psychology.

My Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy has three main goals: first, to provide the fundamental skills, knowledge and critical thinking needed to create informed global citizens; second, to create educational environments that represent the diversity of society and are inclusive, thus allowing all students an equal opportunity for success and increasing their sense of belonging; and third, to use digital technologies to enhance learning and make education accessible to a wide range of audiences.

Interests:

The main theme of my research is applied social psychology. I am particularly interested on the role of stigma on evaluations of leaders. I examine the role of attributions for stigma on such evaluations and have looked at this both in the context of disability and mental health. I have also more recently been interested in investigating differences in evaluations of male and female leaders. I was also involved in a research collaboration that investigated the psychological well-being outcomes of non-pharmacological interventions for older persons with insomnia symptoms. This was a meta-analysis that involved researchers from all Goldsmiths University (Department of Psychology), University of Murcia (Department of Human Anatomy), Murcia Institute of Biomedical Research (Spain) and the University of Sussex (Department of Psychology). In the past, I have also been involved in several external collaborations. For example, I was involved in a collaborative project with People United (a charity organisation) which was funded by the Arts Council England (longitudinal study- 3 years) and examined the role of participatory arts in children’s prosocial tendencies.

Qualifications:

• PhD in Psychology (New Route), University of Kent, UK.
• BSc (Hons) in Psychology. Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Career:

Academic Positions

2022- current Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of Exeter, UK.
2020 - 2022 Lecturer in Psychology. University of Exeter, UK
2019 –2020 Lecturer in Psychology. University of Kent, UK.
2015– 2019 Module Convenor & Associate Lecturer. University of Kent, UK.
2018 –2019 Associate Lecturer. University of Kent, UK.
2015 –2018 Research Assistant. University of Kent & People United, UK.

Honours and Awards

2024: Award: 6 x Above & Beyond Awards for Inclusion, Community and Excellence, University of Exeter

2024: Award: Silver Above & Beyond Award, University of Exeter

2024: Award: BPS Psychology Teacher of the Year Award Shorlist (1 of 3, HE), British Psychological Society.

2023: Award: HLS Winner for Accessible Education Award (shorlisted for University)
2023: Award: Silver Above & Beyond, University of Exeter
2022: Award: 'Outstanding Teaching' across all Undergraduate courses throughout the University, University of Exeter
2022: Award: Outstanding Teaching & Outstanding Performance for all of CLES, University of Exeter
2022: Award: Silver Above & Beyond, University of Exeter
2022: Award: Commendation from the British Psychological Society
2021: Award: Above & Beyond, University of Exeter
2021: Award: Above & Beyond, University of Exeter
2020: Award: Commendation from Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education
2019: Award: Above & Beyond Teaching Award for Associate Lecturer post
2017: Award: Most Helpful Teacher in the International Foundation Programme
2015: Conference chair: Knowledge Exchange Event, University of Kent
2015: Conference chair: 2ndInterdisciplinary Conference on Social Movements, University of Kent

Grants

2022 5,045GBP: Education Learning Funds: Neurodiversity in HE, STIM toys & Ear Defenders
2021 3,250GBP: Education Incubator Grant for Neurodiversity in Higher Education
2019 700GBP: Teaching Enhancement Small Support Award (TESSA), University of Kent
2017 300GBP: Research Fund, School of Psychology, University of Kent
2015 300GBP: Travel Grant, School of Psychology, University of Kent

Committee Memberships

• Member of the University Senate (Senator)
• Member of the Faculty WICC (Wellbeing, Inclusion, Culture Committee)
• Representative of Psychology in Success & Inclusive Eduucation Group (Member)
  
  

Selected Media Coverage

Goldsmiths: Pill-free treatments can tackle insomnia and depression.
People United: Changing the World through Arts & Kindness | Report