With a background in communication for social change, critical theory and liberating pedagogy, Professor Tufte’s research focuses on the dynamic interplay between communication and social change.  

He has worked within research, teaching, curricular development and consultancy in over 30 countries, and is a member of Academia Europaea (2019-) and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa (2013-). 

As a Danish cultural sociologist and with a PhD in media and communication, he worked for five years in International Development, including two years with UNDP in Asuncion, Paraguay, before entering academia in 1996.  

Following eight years at the University of Copenhagen, he joined Roskilde University as a Professor of Communication in 2004, moving to the University of Leicester’s School of Media, Communication and Sociology in 2016 as a Professor and Research Director. 

Thomas joined Loughborough University London in 2018. He led the Institute for Media and Creative Industries for six years before serving as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation (2024-26).  

Having secured a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant, the University’s first successful applicant, he is Principal Investigator of Reimagining Activism, Communication and Trajectories of Participation in the Global South (REACT, 2026-31). This project is exploring youth aspirations, citizen engagement and social change in 20 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.  r