Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
I am Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Education & Social Work.
Much of my research is at the intersections of applied linguistics and higher education. I currently have active research interests in writing and literacy as a social practice (more recently in the context of heritage and religion), and contemporary digital literacy and epistemology.
Between 2021-23, I was a recipient of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for a study called Literacy & Harmony: A Study of Sino-Muslim Heritage Literacy in China. This researched involved working with a team across various provinces in China. More on the project here. Following this, I won a British Academy grant to undertake a project on heritage literacy in Hong Kong SAR, and then a Leverhulme Research Project Grant 2025-27 for a wider study of heritage literacy across the Greater Bay Area.
My current monograph (under contract with Bloomsbury, 2025) is Heritage Literacy in the Lives of Chinese Muslims. Another recent book is titled A Semiotics of Muslimness in China (2023) and published with Cambridge University Press. Both books draw from extensive fieldwork in Sino-Muslim communities across China.
Other works include: Critical perspectives on Teaching in the Multilingual University (2024); The Epistemology of Deceit (2021); a 2019 co-authored monograph Academics Writing: The Dynamics of Knowledge Creation; my 2017 monograph Assignments as Controversies (both published by Routledge/T&F); as well as various published research articles in these areas of interest.
Prior to joining Queen's University Belfast, I was a Senior Researcher on a 2 year ESRC project which investigated the changing nature of academic work, writing, and knowledge creation in English universities.
Previous affiliations include Lancaster University and the University of Bradford. I received my PhD from the University of Leeds (ESRC funded) for a thesis which investigated the impact of digital media on the literacy practices of adult learners.
Teaching
I supervise doctoral projects on issues related to literacy and writing, digital literacy, language education, and digital epistemologies. Researchers and potential collaborators are welcome to contact me about working in these areas.
Between 2018 and 2021 I was the Director of the MSc TESOL at Queen’s University Belfast. I currently lead on the module Digital Literacy & Communication (EDU7273) and also contribute to other modules.
I serve as External Examiner at the University of Edingburgh and Saint Francis University in Hong Kong.
I have conducted Visiting Professor activities at Jilin University (China), Yogyakarta State University (Indonesia), Diponegoro University (Indonesia), and Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Indonesia).
I have not always worked in Universities. My career began in community learning, Further Education (where I taught on Adult ESOL and Literacy courses), and awarding bodies. It is from this context that my interest in literacy and language learning began to emerge: Through observing how people who were otherwise marginalised and displaced could - through their digital literacies - become core participants of communities in digital environments, and thus radically transform their lives.
Other
- Between 2018-2024 I served as a Trustee and Governing Council member for the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
- Executive Editor for the journal Teaching in Higher Education (T&F)
- Former convener of the SRHE's Digital University Network (2015-2022)
- Editorial Board member of the journal Post Digital Science & Education (Springer)
- Founder and co-convener of the SRHE's Multilingual University Network.
Online you can find me through:
- X: @ibrar_bhatt
- Personal website: http://ibrarspace.net
- YouTube: @IbrarBhattPhD
- WeChat official account: "语言 技术 社会" (Language, Technology & Society)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R3389SES: Kindred Spirit: An educational game for learning about the value of kindness in digital learning design
Bhatt, I. (PI)
23/08/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R2458SES: How connected are students to campus technologies and official learning spaces?
Bhatt, I. (PI)
26/01/2018 → …
Project: Research
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R1247SES: Heritage literacy maintenance and adaptation: A study of Muslim communities in Hong Kong SAR
Bhatt, I. (PI)
18/10/2023 → 30/10/2024
Project: Research
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R2790SES: Literacy & Harmony: A study of Sino-Muslim Literacies in Modern China
Bhatt, I. (PI)
28/04/2021 → 30/06/2023
Project: Research
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Big sister, dog, and ethnic names: Semiotic ideologies of self-naming on Xiaohongshu (RED)
Wang, A. & Bhatt, I., 31 May 2025, (Accepted) In: Discourse, Context & Media.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Ecologies of research writing in Chinese universities: navigating place, mobility, and practices
Bhatt, I. & Chen, X., 21 Feb 2025, (Accepted) In: Written Communication.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Exploring a sociolinguistics of Islam
Bhatt, I., Barnawi, O. & Ahmad, R., 02 Jun 2025, (Accepted) In: Applied Linguistics.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Postdigital citizen science and humanities: a theoretical kaleidoscope
Jopling, M., Stewart, G. T., Orchard, S., Suoranta, J., Tolbert, S., Cheilan, L., Yan, F., Price, C., Hayes, S., Scott, H., Latham, A., Bhatt, I., Dodonov, V., Matthews, A., Muhtaseb, R., MacKenzie, A., Owaineh, M., Earle, S., Simmons, B. & Clarke, Z. & 5 others, , 01 Mar 2025, In: Postdigital Science and Education. 7, p. 31-77 47 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)21 Downloads (Pure) -
Critical perspectives on teaching in the multilingual university
Bhatt, I., Badwan, K. & Madiba, M., 18 Nov 2024, Routledge. 194 p.Research output: Book/Report › Edited book › peer-review
Prizes
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Article of the Month, Issue 3, Teaching in Higher Education, 2019
MacKenzie, A. (Recipient) & Bhatt, I. (Recipient), 02 Jun 2019
Prize: Other distinction
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Best Concise Paper Award [28th ICDE World Conference on Online Learning, 2019]
Bhatt, I. (Recipient) & MacKenzie, A. (Recipient), Nov 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Bhatt, I. (Recipient), Jun 2018
Prize: Election to learned society
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Trustee and Member of Governing Council of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
Bhatt, I. (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Election to learned society
Activities
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Teaching in Higher Education (Journal)
Luckett, K. (Associate editor), Bhatt, I. (Associate editor) & MacKenzie, A. (Guest editor)
01 Aug 2025Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity
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Doctoral Thesis External Examiner
Bhatt, I. (Examiner)
2025Activity: Examination types › PhD external examination
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Heritage Literacy and A Sociolinguistics of Islam [invited in-person talk at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar]
Bhatt, I. (Invited speaker)
15 Sept 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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A Case for Postdigital Applied Linguistics [invited in-person talk for Jilin University, China]
Bhatt, I. (Invited speaker)
23 May 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Heritage Literacy in the Lives of Chinese Muslims [invited in-person talk at University of Hong Kong]
Bhatt, I. (Invited speaker)
14 May 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Press/Media
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Muslim literacies in China [podcast for the 'New Books Network' & 'Language On The Move'
24/07/2024
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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The epistemology of deceit in a postdigital era
MacKenzie, A., Bhatt, I. & Rose, J.
19/05/2021
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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The Epistemology of Deceit in a Postdigital Era
Bhatt, I., MacKenzie, A. & Rose, J.
28/04/2021
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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New media, digital literacy and the mechanics of trust
25/01/2020
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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What’s the point of education if Google can tell us anything?
24/07/2015
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment