Dr Claudia Loggia, a senior lecturer in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, has been made a member of the United Kingdom Research Innovation (UKRI) International Development Peer Review College until 2023.
UKRI contributes to the expert review of overseas development assistance funding opportunities offered by UKRI councils, particularly those funded under the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund.
‘I have assisted in reviewing some UKRI funded projects,’ said Loggia. ‘I was invited to attend the annual Global Engagement meetings to discuss international development funding opportunities and undergo training on the expert review of proposals. More recently, I was invited to be part of the UKRI GCRF Hubs and Forward Plans Panel to discuss and evaluate the progress of big projects funded by UKRI and GCRF.’
She was commended by UKRI’s International Director Professor Tim Wheeler who said: ‘Dr Loggia has made an excellent contribution to the (UKRI) International Development Peer Review College during the past 12 months. We are grateful to her for her professionalism, diligence and generosity of time and effort.’
Said Dean and Head of the School Professor Ernest Khalema: ‘The School is proud of Dr Loggia’s contributions to UKRI and for flying the UKZN flag high. This recognition is an excellent testimony of her dedication to her craft and will go a long way towards putting the School, the College of Humanities, and UKZN on the map as part of our internationalisation efforts. Well done and congratulations.’
Loggia, who holds a PhD in Building Engineering and a MEng from the Cagliari University in Italy, has extensive experience in trans-disciplinary research projects and consultancy work in the areas of energy efficient building design and retrofit, green infrastructure, sustainable urban regeneration and informal settlements upgrading.
She is a Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellow and has for the past five years been involved in a project – in partnership with the University of Westminster (London) – titled: Building Urban Resilience for Self-Reliance in African Cities.
Loggia is also Principal Investigator for the South African team involved in the ISULABANTU project (www.isulabantu.org ) which is focused on community-led upgrading for self-reliance in informal settlements in South Africa. The project is a three-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC/NRF) Urban Transformation in South Africa Grant venture in partnership with the University of Westminster, the University College London, the eThekwini Municipality and a local NGO called uTshani Fund.
Both of these collaborative projects are providing opportunities for community engagement (fieldwork, community events), training (in-field community training) and capacity building (in the areas of project management, construction management, and environmental management).
Loggia is also collaborating on research projects in South Africa with local government institutions, NGOs and local communities such as the uMngeni Resilience Project which aims to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities in KwaZulu-Natal.
She is also a Green Star South Africa Accredited Professional with the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
