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Dr Benjamin Ajibade
Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing · Northumbria University

Building nursing education where everyone belongs.

Educator, researcher, speaker, and consultant with nearly four decades of experience — pioneering inclusive, decolonised approaches to teaching, research, and mental health care.

Work with meInvite me to speak
Senior Fellow, HEA40+ publications£2.7M+ in research funding
Dr Benjamin Olusola Ajibade, Assistant Professor in Mental Health Nursing
39Years in nursing & academiaAcross Nigeria, Singapore & the UK
40+Peer-reviewed publicationsIn leading nursing & education journals
£2.7M+Research fundingSecured & contributed as PI and co-applicant
250+Students supervisedFrom BSc to PhD / Professional Doctorate
SFHEASenior Fellow, HEAHigher Education Academy
5+Universities examined forAs external examiner & validator
Three ways to work together

However you’ve arrived, there’s a clear next step.

Whether you lead an institution, programme a conference, or build research, here’s where to go.

For universities & health services

Work with me

Curriculum design, LEGO® Serious Play facilitation, and EDI consulting that turns commitments into measurable change.

Explore services For conferences & events

Invite me to speak

Keynotes, panels, and workshops on decolonising education, equity in research, and mental health across communities.

See speaking topics For researchers & funders

Build research together

Doctoral supervision, grant partnerships, and co-produced research with minoritised communities at its heart.

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Dr Ajibade facilitating a workshop with students
A signature method

Serious questions, built one block at a time.

Dr Ajibade pioneered LEGO® Serious Play as a methodology in nursing education — the subject of his doctorate — using hands-on building to surface honest dialogue about transition, identity, and belonging.

  • Helping students articulate what words alone can’t
  • Decolonising learning through co-creation, not correction
  • Train-the-trainer programmes that build lasting capability
Explore facilitation & training
ELEVATE — Equity Led Empowerment for Voices in Academic Transformation and Education
Flagship initiative

ELEVATE: advancing Black and Mixed Black heritage researchers.

An institutional advocacy, mentorship, and professional development platform advancing the career progression and structural inclusion of Black and Mixed Black heritage academics and early-career researchers — bridging the gap between diversity rhetoric and tangible systemic transformation.

  • Mentoring & Belonging
  • Academic Skills Development
  • Career Progression & Visibility
Pro:NE partnership (OfS / Research England)
£2.5M
Staff & students engaged
3,200+
Funded PhD studentships
6
Explore the research
The mission

ELEVATE

A simple idea runs through every project: lift up the voices too often unheard, and build academic cultures where they can thrive.

It’s both a method and a measure — the spine of the research, teaching, and consulting work.

  1. E
    EquityCentering fairness in everything we do.
  2. L
    LedDriven by those with lived experience.
  3. E
    EmpowermentBuilding strength and agency in researchers.
  4. V
    VoicesAmplifying those too often unheard.
  5. A
    AcademicReshaping the research landscape.
  6. T
    TransformationSystemic change, not surface-level fixes.
  7. E
    EducationElevating the next generation of diverse scholars.
Recent scholarship

Selected publications

A sample from 40+ peer-reviewed works across nursing, education, and equity.

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  • 2026

    Challenges to the career progression of racially minoritised academics in UK higher education: exploring institutional and social barriers

    Human Resource Development International

  • 2026

    The Integration and Impact of International General Nurses in Community Mental Health Teams: A Thematic Analysis

    British Journal of Mental Health Nursing

  • 2026

    Addressing the Racialised Awarding Gap in Higher Education: Insights from Personal Tutors

    British Educational Research Journal

New from Ajibade Academic Publishing

Journal of Culturally Responsive Health Practice (opens in a new tab)

Culturally responsive practice is not an optional addition to competent care. It is a condition of it.

  • Open access
  • Double-blind peer review
  • No article processing charge
  • First issue 2027
Visit the journal (opens in a new tab)Author guidelines (opens in a new tab)
Let’s work together

Let’s build something that lasts.

For training, speaking, supervision, or research partnerships — start a conversation.

Get in touchMore about Dr Ajibade