University celebrates first graduate of the Professional Doctorate in Heritage
The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is proud to celebrate a major academic milestone with the graduation of Dr Olatunji Offeyi, the first graduate and first award recipient of its Professional Doctorate in Heritage.
Dr Offeyi was formally awarded the Professional Doctorate in Heritage on 19 January 2026, following the successful submission of his final corrections. He was among the very first students to enrol on the programme when it launched in October 2022, choosing the full-time, distance-learning route. The programme is led by Dr Katharina Zinn, Programme Manager, and combines theoretically underpinned methods in heritage studies with a strong applied and professional focus. Dr Offeyi’s Director of Studies was Professor Bettina Schmidt, with supervision by Ryan O’Byrne.
His doctoral thesis, Nollywood: Challenges, Heritage Practice and Storytelling, explores Nigerian heritage through the lens of film, positioning Nollywood as both an academic field of enquiry and a living cultural archive. The research examines the Nigerian and affiliated film industries as vital forms of cultural heritage, storytelling and memory, rooted deeply in Dr Offeyi’s own lived experience and professional background.
Reflecting on his achievement, Dr Olatunji Offeyi said:
“I am immensely proud to be the first graduate of the Professional Doctorate in Heritage at UWTSD. The programme has been intellectually stimulating, professionally enriching and personally meaningful. Studying at UWTSD has been a genuinely positive experience and the the academic support, flexibility of the distance-learning route, and the encouragement to pursue research that connects scholarship with real-world cultural practice made this journey both rigorous and rewarding. I am deeply grateful to my supervisors and to the wider programme team for their guidance and belief in my work.”
An award-winning Nigerian-British journalist-poet and Salzburg Global Fellow, Dr Offeyi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and has built a distinguished career across journalism, literature, public policy and cultural commentary. He is the author of Echoes from the Soul and Many People: Different Tales, and his writing has influenced public discourse and policy, including prompting government action in Nigeria following the publication of his short story Pleasures of the Night. His collaboration with Television for the Environment (TVE) UK resulted in the publication of Filming Against Poverty.
Dr Offeyi holds an MA in International Relations from Staffordshire University, a BA in Literature in English from Lagos State University, and additional certificates from the University of Oxford and Central European University. He practised journalism for several years in Lagos, writing primarily for The Week magazine, where he interviewed prominent figures from global cinema, academia and the Nigerian entertainment industry, including leading Nollywood actors and producers. He also specialises in public policy consultation and political analysis, with a focus on West Africa, British and European politics.
Commenting on Dr Offeyi’s achievement, Dr Katharina Zinn, Programme Manager of the Professional Doctorate in Heritage, said:
“Dr Offeyi’s multifaceted academic, professional and creative background made him an exceptionally strong and fitting candidate for this innovative Professional Doctorate. His decision to research film as cultural heritage exemplifies the programme’s broad and inclusive approach recognising motion pictures as crucial records of human history, societal values and artistic expression. This work demonstrates how heritage can encompass identity, memory, everyday life and contemporary cultural forms. As one of only two Professional Doctorates in Heritage in the UK, we are delighted to celebrate both our first graduate and the success of the programme itself.”
Further Information
Arwel Lloyd
Principal PR and Communications Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07384 467076