Albanian studies academic from the Institute of Ethnology and Central European and Balkan Studies at CU FA received the Research Expertise in the Academic Diaspora Fellowship from Albanian-American Development Foundation along with two colleagues from “Fan S. Noli” University in Korca – Dr Dorela Kacauni and Dr Eriola Bonja Qafzezi. Together, they will explore the role of cohesive devices in written academic essays in English and Albanian.
As part of the project, Dr Orkida Backus Borshi will hold several lectures at “Fan S. Noli” University where she will also help develop the curricula of the courses Academic Writing and Translation. Her involvement as an academic from the diaspora will contribute to the development of creativity and quality of student writings in both languages.
The methodology of the project will focus on collecting and analysing data from student academic essays in English and their translated versions in Albanian across various study programs at “Fan S. Noli” University. The data will be used to create an Albanian-English learners’ corpus, which will then be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively in joint papers.
The READ Fellowship Program is a seven-year project that connects Albanian higher education institutions with the academic diaspora and other related institutions abroad. The program offers a unique opportunity to address the untapped potential of the Albanian intellectual diaspora in ways that would enhance capacities and bring about structural changes in the Albanian higher education system.
