Dr Vahid Nick Pay

Departmental Lecturer in International Politics

Biography

Dr Vahid Nick Pay is a lecturer in International Politics and Research Methods for the Diplomatic Studies Programme. He is a Fellow of Kellogg College University of Oxford and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy. He is also an official academic advisor to the UK government's Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

Vahid is a multidisciplinary academic with expertise and interests in several fields of Social Sciences and IT such as Political Philosophy, Diplomacy, Security Studies, Public International Law, Linguistics, IT Security and AI.

Before coming to Oxford in 2018 he served as an Assistant Professor of Politics and IR at the University of Kurdistan (Iraq), Adjunct Professor in Internatioanl Relations-Security Studies at the University of Paris (French), Lecturer in International Relations, Security Studies and Research Methods at Sciences Po Paris, Lecturer in Linguistics and Discourse Analysis at the University of Milan (Italian) and a Lecturer in Linguistics at Islamic Azad University, Iran (Persian). He was a winner of a Teaching Excellence Award in 2018. He also holds the French national higher education teaching and doctoral supervision qualification (habilitation).

Dr Nick Pay also served as the interim director of the Diplomatic Studies Programme in 2020. He was involved in designing and launching a department of Continuing Education at his previous institution. He played a key role in the launch of a new full-time Master of Studies Programme in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford in 2018.

Throughout his career, Vahid has held various roles within academia, including Chair of Exam Boards, Academic Director, Academic Advisor, and Director of Graduate and Postgraduate Studies. He has also been a member of several academic management boards, and he was a member of the Management Committee at the Centre for International Studies (DPIR-University of Oxford).

In addition to his academic experience, Dr Nick Pay brings several years of experience in both government and private sectors with expertise in IT, engineering, digital healthcare and conginitive neuroscience. He has worked in organizations such as the BBC, NHS (National Health Service), British Telecom, and the French national healthcare.

Beyond his full-time lecturship in International Politics and Research Methods, Dr Nick Pay has actively engaged the wider public by developing numerous short and weekend courses over the years. For 2024 he is offering two public courses Religion in International Politics (April 2024) and AI Governance and Diplomacy (December 2024). Dr Nick Pay is also developping a new programme on AI Governance and Diplomacy.