We are delighted to announce that  Professor Xiaolan Fu has been conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. The Academy of Social Sciences is the national academy of academics, practitioners, and learned societies in social science. It champions the vital role social sciences play in education, government, and business. Fellows are recognised, after an independent peer review process, for the excellence and impact of their work and their wider contributions to the social sciences for public benefit.

On receiving the fellowship, Prof Fu said ' I am deeply honoured by the appointment. This reflects the increasing important role that science, technology and innovation played in international development. I am lucky to have the opportunity to carry out research which can better people’s life. I am most grateful to the support from my university and my collaborators and funders in both the global South and North and in international organisations, without which my research would not have today’s progress and impact. To achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we still need to work hard and act faster.’

Professor Fu is Professor of Technology and International Development and Director of the Technology and Management Centre for Development (TMCD) at ODID. Her research interests include innovation, technology and industrialisation; trade, foreign direct investment and economic development; emerging Asian economies; and innovation and productivity in the UK/US. Her work has been influential in changing our understanding of the role of innovation in enabling development.

Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, Head of Department, ODID, made the following comment "It is a real honour to have three members of our department selected as new fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences, it is a well-deserved recognition of their contribution to international development and demonstrates once again the vibrancy of our community and the quality of all our work".

Find out more about the awards here: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-10-11-eight-oxford-academics-named-new-fellows-academy-social-sciences