DrKomali Yenneti

BIO

Associate Professor (Reader) in Urban Sustainability | Head of Partnerships (Academic Quality), Faculty of Science and Engineering

Dr Komali Yenneti is an Associate Professor (Reader) in Urban Sustainability and Head of Partnerships (Academic Quality) in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, where she leads institutional and transnational education (TNE) partnerships, course validations, and academic quality assurance across the UK and international markets. She is an interdisciplinary researcher and educator with expertise in human geography, urban studies and environmental planning, and has over ten years of international academic, research and policy experience across the UK, India, Australia and China, working as a post-doctoral researcher, research fellow, lecturer, senior lecturer and principal lecturer.

Komali obtained her PhD in Geography and Environmental Sciences from the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), with demonstrated impact in the context of smart cities, urban climate change and heat resilience, energy efficiency and renewable energy, urban inequalities, and gender issues, particularly in the Global South. She is committed to developing policy and partnerships that enhance knowledge exchange and maximise research impact, and is a strong advocate of inclusive and transformative futures, placing community participation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and policy significance at the core of her work.

She has led and contributed to funded projects for organisations including the British Council, UKRI-NERC, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Urban Studies Foundation, and the UK Department for Energy Security & Net-Zero, where she is currently seconded as a Building Science & Climate Change Specialist, developing a policy guide on adaptation to residential overheating. Her research outputs include over 33 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 edited books, 8 book chapters, multiple policy briefs and research reports, and more than 100 outputs overall.

Dr Yenneti is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She is an Editorial Board Member of Applied Geography and Subject Editor (Energy and Climate) for Sustainability, and has previously edited Special Issues for journals including Energy and Buildings and Sustainability. She is the Chair of the Quantity Surveyors International (QSi) – UK & Ireland Board and the founding Chair of the International Geographical Union's Young and Early Career Geographers Commission (IGUYECG). She is Co-Lead for the REF 2029 People, Culture and Environment component for Unit of Assessment C13 (Architecture, Built Environment and Planning), joint Chair of the University's Women's Staff Network (WSN), and a former Faculty representative on the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Sub-Committee. As Policy Lead for the Commonwealth Youth Climate Network, she was invited to a reception at Buckingham Palace by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Komali has made significant contributions to curriculum design, the internationalisation of education, student support, early career academic mentorship, and advancing equality, diversity and inclusion within higher education. She supervises doctoral and Master's students across the UK and internationally, and prospective students may contact her at komaliy@wlv.ac.uk.