Hello! I am from Cairo, Egypt, and have lived there all my life. I was working for just over a year before coming to Oxford as a researcher at a research center called Access to Knowledge for Development (A2K4D), at the American University in Cairo (AUC). I was working on many projects at the center, but my primary focus and interest was on themes of gender, informality, labor and digitization, all within a MENA context. I started working right after I graduated from my bachelor's degree at AUC, where I majored in Economics and had a double minor in Development Studies and Business Administration. 

During my time as an undergraduate student I felt out of place in my economics major. When I began taking classes that were multidisciplinary and went beyond orthodox economics, I began discovering the field of development through its various strands in disciplines such as anthropology and gender studies. This is when I decided that I want to pursue my education in development studies through a master's degree and when I found ODID. Through my search for a master's in development studies, I was looking to go to an institution renowned for its quality in education and research, and a department that was reputable in the development field, especially because it is a relatively recent and broad field. 

It is wonderful being around a mix of students, young researchers and academic professionals who are all passionate about development, but all in completely different contexts and specialities. It makes for an intellectually diverse, rich and stimulating environment, that is a joy and inspiration to be in every day. 

I particularly enjoy the balance between teaching and research within the course. When I was applying for master's courses, the thing I was most intent on was joining a course that had extensive teaching hours, contact hours and a dissertation option. This was because I felt like I still had a lot to learn about the field and because I wanted to write a dissertation that was based on in-person fieldwork. Hence, while we have our foundation classes in the first year and our option courses in the second year, which give us a lot of teaching hours, we also get to immerse ourselves in research, through our own passion project, which is the thesis. 

My thesis is centered around a cluster of themes that interest me, including gender, labor, informality and digitization, within a Global South context. I am looking at local women domestic works in Cairo and the recent introduction of digital labor platforms into their labor market, hoping to understand how they navigate informality in both online and offline contexts. 

Other than life at the department and activities with coursemates, I have been enjoying living in college and participating in activities there. I am at Wolfson College, which has a great graduate, international community and there is always something going on! Beyond the social life, I have also been involved in part-time reseach assistant work at the department, which has been very academically rewarding and a nice break from always reading up on my own dissertation topic! 

Not really, but in the best way! Coming from a big city like Cairo, I am used to a fast-paced and chaotic environment, with minimal public spaces and greenery. While I absolutely love Cairo, it has been very refreshing to enjoy my daily walks through University Parks to ODID and to go to nature-filled spaces like Port Meadow, which is exactly what I had hoped I'd be able to do here. Beyond this, and as I expected, life in Oxford has been academically charged and demanding, but also quite rewarding and with a lovely community for socializing and personal growth. 

It is a cliche of an answer but, just to apply! The mental barrier and imposter syndrome that I faced when thinking of applying to Oxford was probably the biggest hurdle during the application process, almost stopping me from applying in many instances. Beyond that and more specific to the MPhil course, I would advise on beginning to think of a thesis topic or location from early on, since it is a large component of the course and it is comforting to have a vague idea of what you will be researching as you get into the course.