SETU, with funding from the SATLE, hosted Talha AlAli from Decolonised Minds to deliver a workshop on decolonising the curriculum for SETU staff.
Empowering educators through decolonial practice
SETU had the privilege of hosting Talha AlAli, the founder of Decolonised Minds, and a Palestinian psychotherapist based in Ireland, delivered a thought-provoking workshop for academic, professional, and support staff on decolonising knowledge in higher education.
The workshop, co-hosted by Dr Maeve Doyle, who secured the SATLE funding for the initiative, brought together staff from across the university to reflect on how knowledge was produced, represented, and shared within universities.
Challenging power and perspective
The interactive session encouraged participants to examine historical and contemporary power structures that had influenced how knowledge was produced. Attendees explored questions of representation and exclusion in curriculum design and considered how teaching practices could evolve through a decolonial lens.
“This was a great opportunity for staff to engage with their own course content and understand the key concepts of decolonising material - examining knowledge sources, production, representation, and stakeholders. Workshops like this contribute to embedding EDI and SDG principles into course content for both staff and students.”
Dr Maeve Doyle, a lecturer of Psychology at SETU.
Decolonised minds: Reclaiming voice and identity
Talha said, decolonised minds is a justice-oriented psychotherapy and educational practice grounded in social justice, intersectionality, and decolonial thought. It challenges Eurocentric models by centring cultural identity, systemic awareness, and collective healing. Through a trauma-informed and pluralistic approach, AlAli bridges personal healing with social transformation.
“This workshop allowed educators to deeply explore the histories and power structures that shape our understanding of knowledge. By examining whose voices are centred and whose are excluded, we can begin to create curricula that reflect a wider range of perspectives and lived experiences.”
Talha AlAli, the Founder of Decolonised Minds.
He said, "Initiatives like this strengthen our collective commitment to equity, justice, and meaningful inclusion within higher education."
Building inclusive educational futures
By hosting this workshop, SETU demonstrated its ongoing commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within teaching and learning. The event reflected SETU’s broader mission to empower educators, foster critical reflection, and create inclusive curricula that better represented the diversity of student and staff experiences.