Rory Stanton

Rory Stanton is a lecturer and Programme Co-Director in Human Resource Development (International Development) in the Global Development Institute (GDI).

After working initially for the private sector in Ireland, Rory spent five years working for UNICEF in southern Africa as an Assistant Project Officer for the organisation’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Project in Zimbabwe, and as a Communications Officer for UNICEF-Lusaka in Zambia. Following this, Rory returned to Ireland where he studied for an MA in the Sociology of Development and the Anthropology of Globalisation at the University College Cork. He later took his studies further by undertaking doctoral studies at the Institute for Development Policy and Management (now GDI). His research, focusing on the Zambian context, explored how the disparities between the development practices of large NGOs and historical migration practices produce conflicting developmental worldviews and aspirations.

Upon completion of his PhD studies Rory worked as a development and editorial consultant for various educational and policy institutes including the University of Manchester and the Korean Institute of Public Administration. He returned to academia through facilitating participatory research seminars for the Development Informatics Group in IDPM/GDI and progressed to course convenor, and then to his current role on HRD (International Development) programme.

Currently, Rory convenes the HRD programme’s core research and gender and development modules, and he is a guest lecturer on other core modules.

Rory has supervised over 60 Masters students (on-campus and distance-learning) to successful completion of their research dissertations. These research topics have included HRD and creativity, NGOs from the point of view of practice, capacity development, empowerment, etc., gender and HRD, HRD in China, IT and HRD, and politics and social media.

Service and Leadership

Programme Co-Director, Human Resource Development (International Development) (2017 to date)

Chair of the GDI Mitigating Circumstances Committee (2018 to date)

Member of the GDI Mitigating Circumstances Committee (2016-2018)

GDI Equality and Diversity Champion (2019 to date)

Internal PhD Examiner

Membership of academic bodies

Member of Development Studies Association