Jennifer Robinson - Biography#

Jennifer Robinson, born South Africa, 1963, acquired her MA at the University of Natal, Durban (now KwaZulu-Natal) and PhD at the University of Cambridge (1990). Currently Chair of Human Geography at University College London, with previous permanent posts at LSE and the Open University, she was visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town (2008-2014), and held the Swiss Chair in Mobility Studies at Neuchâtel University, Jan-June 2011, as well as shorter term visiting fellowships at University of British Columbia (Canada) and University of Vienna. Her widely cited publications, influential in Geography and Urban Studies, re-oriented both towards post-colonial critique and reinvigorating comparative methods for global urban studies. Co-Director of University College London’s Urban Laboratory (2010-present), she led a major international conference in November 2019 (At the Frontiers of the Urban).

As Editorial Board member of the flagship journal International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, she was Editor-in-Chief of the associated book series, Studies in Urban and Social Change (2009-2019) and Managing Editor of the journal Geoforum (1996-2005). Noted as 35th most cited in Geography and Urban Studies internationally in 2010 (Kong and Qian, Urban Studies, 2019), she is now amongst the most highly cited in her field. Her articles have been reprinted in a number of Readers, as well as translated into Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese and Korean. Her influence is recognised in numerous invitations to present public and keynote lectures across Europe (repeated invitations to 13 European countries outside the UK) and internationally. Opening Speaker at the 100th anniversary conference of the Society of South African Geographers, 2016, she was elected Fellow of the Society. She has examined 30 PhD theses internationally and in the UK, 6 PhDs in Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland, and four Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches in France. Contributions to scientific leadership include role as Output Assessor for the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework, scientific review and assessment for research organisations across Europe, and member of scientific committees for conferences. She led a major comparative research programme funded by the ESRC, and won an ERC advanced grant in 2019.