IAS Friends and Fellows Coffee Morning

On Wednesday 8 April we will be hosting an IAS Friends and Fellows Coffee Morning, where we will welcome current IAS Residential Fellows Mr Sumit Dugar & Dr Ashley Ajumoke Stewart.

Please feel free to book and come along and join us for an informal in-person gathering at International House with coffee and cakes to meet our Fellows, all are welcome.

Mr Sumit Dugar, British Embassy Kathmandu

Sumit Dugar is an international development professional with over a decade of progressive experience in portfolio management, systems thinking, and fostering strategic partnerships to enhance programme delivery. He currently serves as the Resilience Adviser for the UK Government at the British Embassy in Kathmandu (BEK), where he leads the £38.5 million Resilience, Adaptation, and Inclusion in Nepal (RAIN) Programme (2025–2030). In this role, he works closely with key government counterparts in Nepal, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE), and the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Dr Ashley Ajumoke Stewart, University of Port Harcourt

Ashley A. Stewart is a visual communication designer, researcher, and educator whose work spans design for health, social impact, and decolonising education. She holds a PhD in Visual Communication Design from the University of Port Harcourt, where her research focused on developing user-centred environmental graphics for wayfinding in primary health centres, using participatory and ethnographic methods to enhance accessibility in public health spaces. Ashley lectures in visual communication, advertising, and design management at the University of Port Harcourt. She is committed to rethinking design education in African contexts by integrating local knowledge systems, inclusive pedagogies, and visual storytelling into both theory and practice. Her teaching innovations have improved student outcomes and fostered culturally relevant creative engagement.