ucl dissertation supervisor

UCL School of Management

University college london, job vacancies, dissertation supervisors for business analytics.

The UCL School of Management is looking to appoint dissertation supervisors in the field of  business analytics . Dissertation supervisors are expected to advise students in the writing of their dissertation from the generation of a feasible topic to the submission of the dissertation. Knowledge of  programming and statistics  is essential for the role. The students are enrolled on the MS c Business Analytics degree:  https://www.mgmt.ucl.ac.uk/business-analytics

Supervision and marking takes place between 26th April 2021 and 27th August 2021. The deadline for dissertations is 2nd August 2021.  

Duties and responsibilities

• Familiarise themselves with the requirements of the dissertation project.
• Make contact with each dissertation student within three days from the date that supervisory allocations are released.
• Agree on a schedule of meetings with each student - guideline is 8 x 30-minute meetings.
• Assist students by providing advice and guidance on how to prepare, produce and improve their project. This may include giving advice on the chosen topic i.e. advise the student on the feasibility of what (s)he plans to do; identifying relevant academic literature; providing guidance on the use of primary and secondary research methods; providing advice on improving the presentation of the project; and other general academic advice.
• Provide students with timely and constructive feedback and guidance within 10 days of draft chapters being submitted.
• Respond to student emails within two working days.
• Keep programme leader up to date on any concerns regarding student progress.
• Be familiar with the formal assessment procedure, marking rubric (Turnitin) and level of feedback required.
• First mark the work of each dissertation student and an associated live presentation to be held in the w/c 9th August.
• Second mark a corresponding number of dissertations and live presentations.
• Each supervisor ideally supervises 10 students but another number of students can be agreed.

Supervisors will actively follow UCL policies including Equal Opportunities policies and be expected to give consideration within their role as to how they can actively advance equality of opportunity and good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it. 

The rate of pay is £657.20 per student.

The UCL School of Management encourages diversity and a positive culture among all faculty, staff, and students. Our school is committed to building an intellectual community in which diversity, fairness, and inclusion are valued, and we encourage applications from women and other minorities. UCL is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualifications - Successful applicants must have a solid knowledge of theory and practice in computing, statistics or business analytics, experience of dissertation supervision at undergraduate and/or postgraduate level(s) and a degree at Masters level in an area related to computing, statistics or business analytics.

Application Instructions - If you would like to be considered, please submit your CV here no later than 3rd February 2021. 

For any questions, please contact Dee Chambers ( [email protected] ).

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What is different about dissertation research?

Where should i start, what is a literature review, why are literature reviews important, what is a literature search, should i conduct a ‘systematic review’, can i get help with researching my dissertation.

The research process for your dissertation requires a different approach from that you'll have used during your taught modules. Rather than being guided to relevant sources by a lecturer, you’re responsible for finding, selecting, evaluating and managing all your research sources. You'll be using many more sources than you'll have consulted for smaller pieces of assessed work, and perhaps different types of information from those you've used previously, so you need to think carefully about your approach to your information gathering and management activities.

If you're unsure where to start, then some background reading should help you get underway. Start by looking at broad themes and topics of interest, viewing sources like textbooks, subject dictionaries and encyclopaedias which examine larger fundamental concepts, before narrowing your search to look for specific research in your area of study. If you find some really useful material, such as relevant articles or books, you can mine these for all sorts of other useful related sources. For example:

• Has the author written additional material on the topic?
• Does the work have useful keywords or subject terms you can use for further research?
• Does the work have references or a bibliography you can use to explore related material?

A literature review summarises and analyses the literature you've found through your research. In a literature review, the literature itself is the subject of discussion. The aim of a literature review is to demonstrate that you’ve read, and have a good grasp of, the main published material concerning a particular topic or question in your field. A literature review isn’t a straightforward summary of everything you’ve read on a topic. It’s an evaluative analysis of what’s been discovered in your field. The review should describe, summarise, evaluate and clarify this literature. Research and Writing Skills for Dissertations and Projects  is a UCL Moodle course available to all UCL students and looks at the skills associated with researching and writing an extended piece of work. Module 4 focuses on the literature review process.

When academics and industry professionals conduct research, they usually publish the work in books, journal articles and conference proceedings. For the most part, this is the 'literature' you need to find and review. A literature review sets the scene for your work. It places your research in context and shows how it relates to and builds upon the work of others. It’s also your chance to tell people why your work matters, why it’s relevant, and how it contributes original research to your field. Importantly, a literature review helps you find out how to do research. It shows which research methods have worked in the past and which ones haven’t. This can be a big help when planning your own research strategy.

For your dissertation, you’re likely to need to perform a literature search. A literature search is a well-thought-out, organised search and evaluation of literature available on a topic. A well-structured literature search is an effective and efficient way to locate sound evidence on the subject you're researching. 'Literature' can include journal articles, newspaper articles, official publications, conference proceedings, archives, book chapters, etc. View the literature searching page on this guide for further details about planning your search, common search techniques and developing a search strategy.

Systematic reviews are a type of literature review that follow a very rigorous and systematic searching, screening and analysis process. You can find out more about the process on our guide to systematic reviews . Usually a systematic review addresses a focused, structured research question to inform understanding on a particular topic and often to support evidence-based decision-making in that area. To do a full systematic review can be an extremely time-consuming process and requires a lot of resources, but you may want to incorporate some similar methodology, such as systematic approaches to literature searching or data analysis, without necessarily carrying out a full review. This can be considered to be a systematic style review, or a “light” systematic review.

Your Subject Liaison Librarian or Site Library can provide support for your dissertation through their subject guides which offer guidance on accessing quality academic resources. Send them an email for personalised support or book a one-to-one appointment .

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UCL Education Conference 2022

Transforming Assessment

Co-learning with my students: supervising literature-based dissertations within education contexts.

The move to online supervision during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022) encouraged postgraduate students to adopt different ways of demonstrating their learning through dissertation-based assessment. This differs from more classic and traditional approaches such as conducting empirical research with teachers or studying classrooms. As a result of not being able to conduct empirical research for submission of reports and dissertations in the education field, this was a particular challenge. In this paper, I report on my practice of supporting students to prepare extended literature-based reports and dissertations. I share how I have extended my teaching to incorporate a much wider view of academic teaching and research methods in educational contexts and encouraged students to do the same.

Supporting Students to Submit an Extended Literature Review: Challenges and Solutions

My 2020-2021 MA cohort of supervisees were not based on campus and face-to-face fieldwork was not possible. Students were encouraged to submit literature-based dissertations, a type of submission often referred to an extended literature review. There were several challenges with this situation which I had to address to design, support and develop effective student learning (Collins, 2019). As a result, I have developed as a practitioner to incorporate a wider view of academic research methods in education contexts and developed effective approaches to support students in their use and understanding of these methods with reference to inclusive teaching at a distance (Bell & Waters, 2018; Lupton, 2020). I also discovered that there are several ways to conduct a literature review and I have identified these, with examples, at the end of this paper.

I considered the diversity of student experience using online research methods in terms of digital skills. I collated a list of eight key education data bases and education journals together with guides to writing an extended literature review, which were circulated to students. The databases and guides are listed at the end of this paper. This also involved learning for me as I was somewhat unfamiliar with the method and a couple of the data bases. I wanted to ensure those students who were new to this way of working would have all the search materials available. It was also important to ascertain the extent to which students needed help to conduct literature searches. Additional support was provided in identifying and using key words and how to choose recent rather than outdated literature.

Creating a Sustainable Online Environment

I began as a research supervisor in 2010, undertaking my first academic role at Edge Hill University following completion of my EdD. What is unique, compared to many of my colleagues at UCL, is my consistent and long-term experience of teaching and learning remotely. I have also supervised a wide range of students with a private provider, offering one-to-one supervision for PG and doctoral students from UK universities. This experience gave me insights into how to supervise research students effectively online by offering encouragement, ongoing support and creating an accessible learning experience. Most importantly, I give timely and constructive feedback on research design, methodology and academic writing and relate these to the grade criteria for their degree programme. I have continued to develop all these aspects at UCL and at Glasgow University.

For the initial sessions, I aimed to enable the students who had been learning online since the start of their programme to gain confidence to talk about research methods and be comfortable asking questions of me and each other with this new area (Van Deursen et al, 2014). I used Zoom and designed several short question and answer protocols about their own personal research and their strengths. In later sessions, I followed Q and As with students presentations (5 minutes) in which they were invited to screenshare a provisional title, background information, reason for choosing their area for research, research questions and a range of references. Students were encouraged to discuss their topics with each other as well as with me via the ‘chat’, either privately or with the whole group. My aim to design a graduated approach to learning together paid off and students were not only able to come up with relevant topics related to literature searching but I was able to offer additional guidance and clarification. Students had one-to-one sessions to develop their work and I developed my expertise in supporting and motivating them to develop their own original research, thus indicating to me that they were meeting the new learning outcomes. Sessions included core skills in theoretical and philosophical situating and critical evaluation and understanding of this research method (Cottrell, 2011; Wainwright, 2018). Questions were circulated with reference to research paradigms and associated theorists. Student shared their responses to demonstrate their understanding of how their research area related to the appropriate philosophical background. Two research papers and a list of questions were circulated prior to the session and students worked in pairs to prepare a critical evaluation of one of the papers using the questions provided as a guide. Sessions were participatory and followed up by one-to-one discussion to support to formulate topics and research questions. Feedback to me confirmed that most students benefitted from the interactive nature of research sharing.

A further key area of literature-based reports is developing information literacy skills, including skills in saving, organising and categorising literature. It is not expected that a level 7 student would do this at the same level a PhD student, however, due to the nature of the research method being solely based on literatures, this became a key part of my learning as well as that of my students. As a result of student feedback, I designed a session to enable students to share the own processes of curating and collating papers (eg using of Endnote/Zotero/ Mendeley) that were related to their research topic and related questions. This feedback from the students further helped me to create a research learning community where students could knowledge share (Stentiford and Koutsouris, 2021).

For the 21-22 cohort, the arrangements are now different whereby students can do face to face fieldwork or an extended literature review. There are many transferable teaching approaches which can be used for both types of assessment and I intend to use a learning community approach which is tailored to student needs in this way. This has provided me with the opportunity to build on my practice and enhance student learning via the benefits of a phased approach. The next section outlines, with examples, how this has evolved.

Assessment for Learning Online

In my supervisory roles at UCL (2020 to date) and Glasgow University (2021 to date) I have supervised five cohorts of MA students, a total of 38 students, and regularly collaborate with colleagues to ensure consistency for marking, moderation and providing summative feedback at both universities. All my students from 2020 and 2021 cohorts were awarded their MA at the end of the programme.

Reflections on my early practice and to date indicate that the relationship between supervisor and research student is a unique one. Within an online environment such as Zoom, Skype or Teams, I aim to create a rapport as well as offer advice and guidance to mentor students as they progress through a research project . I dedicate time initially to find out about students’ motivations and their connectivity to their research. I have found that having students do this as a group (max 7-8) online can help counteract any feelings of isolation and self-doubt that might be present (Daniels, 2013; Bitzer & Albertyn, 2011). Using the chat facility in Zoom is particularly useful for supporting and guiding each student during the presentation process and for those who may not be confident in their English-speaking skills. This is connected to my early experiences whereby many of the students I privately supervised reported a disconnect with their peers (Manathunga, 2007).

My one-to-one online support has a specific structure to make the best of meetings and the time allocation for each student. I have learned that mentoring and guidance are integral to effective supervision as not all students are as autonomous as one may sometimes expect. When I receive a first piece of writing, not only do I feedback via comments in MS Word, I also use screenshare to go through the work in some detail and take time to explain my comments and suggestions. This ensures that the student and I are focusing on specific examples and highlights areas which need attention and improvement (and praise!) including the norms and standards for academic writing. For example, Music MA students regularly investigate aspects of special needs in music education. For those for whom English is not their first language it is important that they are made aware the terms of reference that are used within special needs education in the UK. My work on this has been applied across the MA programme and exemplifies how using one example can help address an overall improvement for all students (Ryan, 2005).

My students are encouraged to use technology of their choice to carry out their research. Different tools such as Survey Monkey, EndNote and SPSS are used so it is important that I recognise that they approach the processes of research in a variety of ways. Students share their work, share information about the tool and explain why it is helpful. Students use the internet during supervision sessions to look up concepts, definitions or any other type of information and share their references. This is useful for non-native English speakers and contributes to information literacy skills.

The way a supervisory session ends is also important for me as helps to show what the students have understood, the learning they will take forward, and to check that we are clear about next steps. In an online setting, I feel there is even more need to do this. We share notes in real-time which contain information about next steps and dates for feedback. (Lee, 2016).

I have always sought feedback on my practice, and students report feeling well supported as well as respected throughout the research process. Going forward, I would like to see how some of these online approaches can be used in the context of face-to-face supervision to enhance my practice and those of others.

Bell, J. and Waters, S. (2018). ebook: Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Bitzer, E. and Albertyn, R. (2011) Alternative approaches to postgraduate supervision: A planning tool to facilitate supervisory processes. South African Journal of Higher Education, 25(5): 25-38.

Collins, D. (2019). Teaching social research methods online – NCRM quick start guide. Manual. NCRM.

Cottrell, S. (2011). Critical thinking skills: Developing effective analysis and argument . 2 nd ed. London: Palgrave.

Daniels, J. (2013). Developing capability: International students in doctoral writing groups. In J. Ryan (Ed.), Cross cultural teaching and learning for home and international students: Internationalisation of pedagogy and curriculum in higher education. London: Routledge. pp. 44-52.

Lee, L. (2016) How challenging is distance postgraduate research supervision? Think Ahead Blog, University of Sheffield. Available on-line at https://thinkaheadsheffield.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/how-challenging-is-distancepostgraduate-research-supervision/

Lupton, D. (editor) (2020) Doing fieldwork in a pandemic (crowd-sourced document). Available At  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1clGjGABB2h2qbduTgfqribHmog9B6P0NvMgVuiHZCl8/edit?ts=5e88ae0a #

Manathunga, C. (2007). Intercultural postgraduate supervision: Ethnographic journeys of identity and power. In D. Palfreyman and D. McBride (Eds.), Learning and teaching across cultures in higher education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Ryan, J. (2005). Postgraduate supervision. In J. Carroll & J. Ryan. (Eds.), Teaching international students: Improving learning for all (pp. 101-106). London: Routledge.

Stentiford, L., & Koutsouris, G. (2021). What are inclusive pedagogies in higher education? A systematic scoping review.  Studies in Higher Education ,  46 (11), 2245-2261.

Van Deursen, A.J.A.M., Helsper, E.J. & Eynon, R. (2014). Measuring Digital Skills. From Digital Skills to Tangible Outcomes project report. Available at:  www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/?id=112

Wainwright, J. (2018) Chapter 5, Research Methodologies in Carter, C. (Ed.). (2018). Successful dissertations: The complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students. Bloomsbury Academic.

Top 8 Education Data bases

• Web of Science
• IEEE Xplore
• Science Direct
• Directory of Open Access (DOAJ)

Examples of types of literature-based research

Rapid Review Approach: Khangura, S., Konnyu, K., Cushman, R., Grimshaw, J., & Moher, D. (2012). Evidence summaries: the evolution of a rapid review approach. Systematic reviews , 1 (1), 1-9

Narrative Review: Evans, D., Hopewell-Kelly, N., Kok, M., & White, J. (2018). Synthesising conceptual frameworks for patient and public involvement in research–a critical appraisal of a meta-narrative review. BMC medical research methodology , 18 (1), 1-9.

Interpretive Review: Christmals, C. D., & Gross, J. J. (2017). An integrative literature review framework for postgraduate nursing research reviews. European Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Vol , 5 (1).

Systematic Review: Boyle, K., Felling, R., Yiu, A., Battarjee, W., Schwartz, J. M., Salorio, C., & Bembea, M. M. (2018). Neurologic Outcomes After Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation – a Systematic Review. Pediatric critical care medicine: a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies , 19 (8), 760.

In House Guides for Students

Broderick, N. (2021) Writing an Extended Literature Review.  Guide 1, General Guidance for Writing an Extended Literature. University of Glasgow: Unpublished. Available via [email protected]

Broderick, N. (2021) Writing an Extended Literature Review Guide 2, Methodology for the Literature review. University of Glasgow: Unpublished. Available via [email protected]

Broderick, N. (2021) WRITING AN EXTENDED LITERATURE REVIEW Guide 3, Ethics and the extended literature review. University of Glasgow: Unpublished. Available via [email protected]

2 thoughts on “ Co-learning with my students: supervising literature-based dissertations within education contexts. ”

I found this immensely interesting and useful but the links say page not found. Is there any way to access these guides?

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Centre for Doctoral Education

Different ways of co-supervising students

UCL requires all students to have two supervisors: one principal supervisor, and one subsidiary. The responsibilities of these two roles are specified by UCL in the code of practice . Amongst other things, the principal is normally responsible for decisions about the students’ progression, such as admission, upgrading and the arrangements for the final examination. The subsidiary supervisor must, at a minimum, meet with the student, provide support and cover for the principal supervisor and be familiar with the student’s work.

All students who have been accepted since the merger with UCL should have two supervisors. In addition, all students who began their studies before the merger should have two supervisors by 2020.

There are several ways in which co-supervision can be positive for all involved, such as:

• Complementary expertise, either in terms of the topic or the processes of supervision
• Continuity if one supervisor is absent or leaves
• Demonstrating to the student that different positions can be taken, which can model the development of independence and autonomy
• Mutual support for the supervisors, in the face of difficulties

However, some aspects of co-supervision can be challenging, including:

• A lack of clarity about each person’s role in the arrangement
• Failures of consistency, and coordinated advice or guidance to the student, or even conflict between the supervisors
• Disagreement about expectations or approaches
• Practical challenges of coordination and logistics
• Work or issues ‘falling through the gaps’ due to a lack of clarity about areas of responsibility

Examples of different models of co-supervision

To help make the experience of co-supervision more positive, the Departmental Graduate Tutors have drawn up some examples of possible co-supervisory arrangements. These are provided as points of reference when discussing how roles might best be configured for particular students.

The principal supervisor as main point of contact

In addition to holding responsibility for major decision points during the student’s registration, the principal supervisor may also be their primary point of contact. Under this model, they would meet with the student at the majority of supervisions, provide feedback on work and so on. The subsidiary supervisor would meet infrequently with the student, perhaps only at important milestones such as admission, upgrade, annual review and in preparation for the final exam. (They would however need to remain familiar with the student’s work and keep an overview of progress using the Research Student Log.)

Under previous IOE models, this may have been described as a “90/10” split of responsibilities.

The principal supervisor as mentor

Whilst the principal supervisor may hold responsibility for all important decisions, they may do this under advice from the subsidiary supervisor, who may meet more frequently with the student. Under this model, the principal would lead on all important points of review and progression, and would keep an overview of the student’s work at all times via the Research Student Log. However, the majority of meetings might be with the subsidiary supervisor, who may in addition take responsibility for providing feedback on draft work and providing day-to-day support.

Under previous IOE models, this may have been described as something like an “20/80” split of responsibilities.

Turn-taking

Where supervisors have complementary areas of expertise, the principal supervisor would retain responsibility for decisions about progression and submission, but the day-to-day work of meeting with the student, giving feedback on draft work and providing support might be split between the team. This might involve the student working on a particular topic or chapter with one supervisor one term, then working on a different topic with the other supervisor the next; or it could involve the supervisors taking turns to meet with the student, with all members meeting together at points such as admission, upgrade and in preparation for the final examination.

Under previous IOE guidance, “50/50” splits of responsibility were not permitted, so that lead responsibility was always clear. This case would equate to a “60/40” split, with supervisors sharing operational duties on a roughly equal basis, but the principal supervisor taking lead responsibility for decisions about progression and standards.

Joint supervision

There may be circumstances when it is appropriate for both supervisors to meet regularly with the student. This should be exceptional, rather than normal practice, but might be useful when:

• The subsidiary supervisor is inexperienced, and would benefit from sharing meetings with the principal supervisor. (Here, the additional commitment of time might be drawn from the personal development allowance of the WMS.)
• The topic is of interest to both supervisors, who decide to commit additional time to the project from the allocation for personal research in the WMS.
• The student has experienced difficulties, or has made poor progress; under these circumstances, the Departmental Graduate Tutor may advise spending more time than usual with the student in order to ensure good progress
• There have been difficulties in the supervisory relationship; under these circumstances, the Departmental Graduate Tutor may advise that it would be in the interest of all for both supervisors to be present.

Note that under previous IOE practice this may have been expressed as a “60/40” split, since the volume of work (which is higher here than normal) was not indicated.

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UCL Institute for Global Prosperity

Alumni Spotlight: Mar Layesca

Mar Layesca, 2018-19 student of the Global Prosperity MSc, who took an unconventional path from architecture to designing socio-cultural projects in Perú.

About Mar Layesca

Mar Layesca came to the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP)  in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in architecture, however she chose not to follow a traditional career as an architect.

Q&A with Mar

What is your background and why did you choose to study the global prosperity msc.

"I've dedicated most of my professional life to the design and development of social, urban and cultural projects and programmes in Peru. With an inherent passion for arts and design, combined with an interest in increasing social justice and human development, I question the ways in which the built environment affected and reflected people - including how the built environment becomes a tangible expression of our identity, our past, power, and vulnerabilities.  I chose the Global Prosperity MSc because I felt aligned to the idea of rethinking and reshaping the social and economic paradigms that currently rule the world."

What have you been doing since graduating and how did your MSc help you progress in your career?

" I have continued my path working on socio-cultural projects and programmes and also as a consultant in policy research and design. I’ve been honored to collaborate with institutions like the Ministry of Housing, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima and UNESCO. I have worked on many different topics:

• Articulating public and private sectors, professionals, and citizens to improve low-income families’ access to healthy, safe, adequate housing
• Encouraging citizen participation in public service design in order to improve early childhood development in the city
• Supporting teachers in creating and implementing projects for educational innovation and sustainable development in public schools
• Researching and designing for new rental housing policies, etc.

I'm now completing another master's in cultural mediation in Valencia, Spain. Cultural mediation is about rethinking and reshaping cultural institutions, decolonising them, re-evaluating what culture means and acknowledging that it is not a matter of the elite - it's about bringing people and institutions closer. I know all the knowledge I gained at the IGP has been crucial for making my experience completing another master's even more meaningful and unique. I’m really grateful."

What did you enjoy the most about studying with the IGP?

"Above all, the people. My fellow classmates, the teachers, the administratives. I loved that the IGP felt like a small family where everybody was close and knew our names, and I think it's rare to find that kind of connection within academia or any organisation. I met some of my best friends during my master’s, and some of the best teachers I’ve ever had who I now consider my mentors and keep in touch with to today.

As well as the people, I enjoyed university life overall. The study spaces (libraries, graduate hubs), time completing my dissertation, spending long days at the student centre with my friends, the mind-blowing conversations that took everything I learned in classes to another level… All the memories I have there, even in busier periods with more deadlines, are invaluable to me."

Which topics, extracurriculars, or electives did you find most interesting and why?

"I really enjoyed taking the amazing elective modules from other departments inside The Bartlett faculty. This was the perfect time for me to open up the scope of the knowledge and critical thinking I was developing inside the IGP. I loved connecting with students taking other master's courses and viewing concepts from others' perspectives. It also enreaching meeting with professors from other specialisms across the faculty. I chose modules from The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU) and had the privilege of auditing an extra module, where I followed along with the classes alongside the modules I was being assessed on. I audited the ' Contemporary Approaches to Development Management ' module with Dr Kamna Patel who eventually became my dissertation supervisor."

What was the topic of your dissertation and could you share your journey around it?

"My dissertation explored the role of housing in the achievement of prosperity from a Capabilities perspective, which is an approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. I had the opportunity to travel to Kenya and do a small qualitative study in a rural community and an urban community, too. I met beautiful people and it was an experience I will never forget.

Last December I published a paper based on my dissertation in the Journal o f Housing a nd t he Built Environment titled ' The Power of House + Home: Exploring a Capabilities Approach to Housing and Prosperity in Kenya '.  My paper has also been accepted for the Human Development and Capabilities Approach 2024 Conference in Kolkata. It is a dream come true to travel to India for this."

Can you tell us about your experience of living in London as a student? How has it has shaped or inspired you?

"After a period of adjusting from moving to London from the other side of world, assimilating to the autumn and winter weather, I started to feel more settled as an international student. It can initially be quite challenging finding and getting used to a new place to live but London has this very unique essence. In March, when the trees start blooming the Sakura trees become pink, and there is more and more sunshine each day. People go outside more, taking picnics in the parks. Spring is my favourite season in London. I still get surprised when I see foxes roaming the streets of London - I've seen so many! Ultimately, London is a very hectic city, full of concrete, but its humid weather makes nature grow everywhere, inside any possible crack, and you're always close enough to nature to go on a hike so it's always worth taking some time during the study breaks to explore the city."

What does prosperity mean to you?

"To me, prosperity is the collective, the common, the quotidian. It is that w e are together, in proximity , in contact. In exchange, in interaction, mutuality and reciprocity. With other people, with nature, with other beings. It is belonging and refuge. T he experience of real empathy that triggers in our bodies the recognition of others and the inspiration to seek justice and reparation, collective liberation and wellbeing.I think it is more a process than an end. It is being able to question what is established even within ourselves. Being able to acknowledge our privileges and take action. It is rage and tenderness, not neutrality.

In a complex and contradictory world, prosperity is a constant humble evolution and transformation. I recently read that evolution means to take care of the other. I think this is true and that to evolving together brings about true prosperity."

What advice would you give to new IGP students and to those thinking of applying?

"At the IGP you are exploring very pressing issues which can be  deeply rewarding as well as highly challenging. Being confronted with our complex realities can bring uncertainty, guilt, self-precarisation, success, failure, white-savior syndrome, emotional collapse. Pauses and self-and community-care are super important to navigate all that.

Be true to yourself and what thrives you. Show yourself as you are, bring and share the things you know and be humble enough to acknowledge the things you still don’t. Enjoy your time because it flies. Grades aren't the full experience of your studies so make new connections (not just in a corporate networking way), spend time with friends to rest and reset, and share your traditional food with them."

Are you interested in studying the Global Prosperity MSc at UCL?

Discover more about the course and the career opportunities it could unlock by visiting the UCL Graduate prospectus. 

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