Ms Lina Furnell

Professional biography

Lina (she/her) is the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies (WELS) Academic Lead for EDI, Staff Tutor and Faculty Coordinator for Health and Social Care, in the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care (HWSC).

As the Academic Lead for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in WELS, Lina leads the development and delivery of a strategic, faculty-wide approach to inclusive practice. Lina's work focuses on embedding EDI into core structures, culture, and decision-making, ensuring meaningful and sustainable impact across the faculty.

Lina leads key initiatives that act as vehicles for change, including the WELS EDI Festival, the EDIA Hub, and the EDI Champions programme, which collectively enhance visibility, engagement, and inclusive practice across WELS.

Lina brings a strategic and inclusive leadership approach, creating environments where colleagues can contribute, collaborate, and develop confidence in EDI practice. Lina's work is grounded in building communities of practice, strengthening institutional alignment, and supporting colleagues to embed EDI into their areas of responsibility.

Previously, Lina led EDI initiatives in the School of HWSC, where she developed and implemented approaches that achieved strong engagement and continue to inform practice across the School. Lina is a Fellow of the Institute for Equity, University Centre.

As Staff Tutor for Health and Social Care, Lina ensures the quality of teaching provision in Health and Social Care module delivery, module production and assessment.

As Faculty Coordinator, Lina collaborates with Health and Social Care Trusts across Scotland and Northern Ireland to support students and employer partners on T01: Certificate of Higher Education in Healthcare Practice.

Qualifications

Master of Arts Open (2025)

Fellow of the Institute for Equity, University Centre

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Research interests

EDI in Higher Education, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Accessibility, EDI in Healthcare education.

Conferences and publications:

AdvanceHE EDI Conference 2026, 'Building Inclusive Communities: Advancing EDI and Accessibility through the School EDI Hub and Community of Practice' (poster);

Kelly, O., Furnell, L., Fadoju, O. (2025) Episode 11: Embedding Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) at the OU with Lina Furnell and Ola Fadoju [Podcast]. 1 December. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CMspusOIPSaKlH2w88haU