The purpose of the OBEL Award Teaching Fellowships is to support universities in introducing new ideas and pedagogies into their institutions while leveraging the knowledge and experience of professionals to contribute to academic teaching.

For the 2024 edition, the following have been chosen by the Henrik F. OBEL Foundation with the assistance of independent academics who evaluated the joint proposals submitted by potential fellows with academic institutions:  

Dele Adeyemo and The Department of Architecture & the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, The University of Lagos. Adeyemo will focus on indigenous settlement practices embedded in the formation of the contemporary Nigerian city.

HY William Chan and the School of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney. At the University of Technology Sydney, Chan will work with students to understand how to balance long-term public needs with evidence-based aspirations in the application to civic projects. In summary, designing is for the public interest.

Sandhya Naidu Janardhan with School of Environment and Architecture, University of Mumbai. Finally, Sandhya Naidu Janardhan, who has worked through the Community Design Agency in Mumbai for years, will work with students to develop tools to envision inclusive futures for climate-vulnerable communities. The urban poor are not part of this discourse, but they remain most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Responding to a call for applications for teaching university-level courses in Africa, Australia, and ten designated Asian countries, these three professionals have been selected to bring new voices into academia. All three fellows have advanced degrees in architecture but have developed unique career paths. All three awardees will teach two courses at their institutions beginning in 2025.  

All of the proposed courses seek to understand cities using a holistic approach that goes beyond one traditional discipline. By understanding both the global scene and the local context, the teaching will seek to impact students and beyond about their city- including grappling with issues of climate change, politics, social justice, housing needs, and much more.   Relying on the power of design to support and enhance change, all OBEL AWARD Teaching Fellows will use both theoretical teaching and practical local cases to test ideas and solutions.