Essien Rita

Essien Rita is a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University's Faculty of Business and Law, Department of Economics, Finance and Law. With over 22 years of experience in education sectors across the UK and abroad, she specializes in outreach activities for Accounting and Finance while contributing to Athena Swan initiatives. Rita also volunteers as an academic mentor for SHoKE projects.

• PhD in Education Economics (in progress, Anglia Ruskin University)
• MA Educational Research (University of Greenwich)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (University of Greenwich)

Research Interests: Focuses on lifelong learning, inclusive education practices, T Level curriculum development, UK transnational education, and employability capital in higher education. Her work examines assessment methodologies, post-16 progression pathways, and pedagogical flexibilities.

Teaching: Delivers modules in financial accounting, corporate finance, international markets, and business strategy at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Professional Contributions: Developed T Level portfolios in collaboration with the Association of Colleges (AoC) and Education Trust Foundation (ETF), secured £200,000+ DfE funding for T Level Capital Fund (2021), and managed quality assurance processes for OFQUAL-regulated awarding bodies.

• Memberships: Chartered Institute of Teaching, Society for Education and Training, First Rung Trust, MaterChristi High School Management Board
• Recent conference presentations: ARU Doctoral Symposium (2024) on UK transnational education, University of Greenwich seminars (2021-2022) on T Level curriculum and post-16 education models