Chartered Accountant, International Rifle Shooter, Social Entrepreneur and a 5-time TEDx Speaker.  I started off my career as a professional rifle shooter - representing India for 7 years as a member of the Indian rifle shooting team and winning +110 medals before pivoting into consulting with my most recent stint being with Deloitte. Currently I am pursuing my MBA at London Business School on full scholarship - thanks to the generous support of the Laidlaw foundation, and continuing to work in parallel on scaling my social venture back in India. I am also one of the top 30 individuals selected globally by UN Women to be a part of the 30 for 2030 network, working with the regional office of the Asia Pacific with a focus on accelerating the 2030 agenda. 

I grew up in Palestine and my previous experience is in the project management field for a real estate developer.  I like running, reading, and binging true crime documentaries. 

I am a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and the lead for the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme at The University of York.  Prior to joining the University of York, my career was in policing focusing on selection and assessment, leadership development, organisation change and culture, and diversity, equality and inclusion.  I completed my BSc Psychology course at The University of Manchester and went straight on to complete my MSc Occupational Psychology course at Northumbria University. I then completed the Qualification in Occupational Psychology (QOccPsych) with the British Psychological Society (BPS) to become a chartered Occupational Psychologist. 

Hi there! I'm Oran, a final year student of International History and Politics. With the Laidlaw Foundation, I completed an independent research project on the history of an early international voluntary organisation in the summer of 2021. Also with the programme, I took part in the 'Youth and Community' project with ThinkPacific in the Fiji Islands in the summer of 2022.  All of this has enhanced my capacity for leadership in a globalising world. Please have a look through my profile to learn more about me and my work as a Laidlaw Leadership and Research Scholar. 

Currently, I am in my second year studying Geography BA with Quantitative Methods at the University of Leeds. 

Hi, I'm Polina and I'm a Biochemstry student at the University of St Andrews. I am interested in the properties of enzymes and mechanism of biocatalysis. It is really exciting to be part of the Laidlaw Network. I had the most amazing summer in my life last year, doing research in MacNeill Lab, St Andrews. Looking forward to my second summer as a Scholar, which I will spend volunteering in Ghana.

I am an alumna of the 2021-22 Columbia Laidlaw Scholars cohort, and graduated from Columbia (CC'24) with majors in History and Mathematics. My Laidlaw research centered on the women's movement in early twentieth-century British India. My first summer focused on the Indian writer, educator, and activist Mahadevi Varma, and my second summer focused on networks of women from across the British empire attending the Oxford in the 1910s-30s at the Unstable Archives Project.

I am a Politics and International Relations student at the University of York. My research project is titled: 'How do social demographic changes influence the spread of populism'. I will look at the Brexit referendum and Trump's election in 2016. These will be my focal points from which I hope to find broader trends about the causes for the growth of populism in modern democracies. Please ask me about anything politics or international relations related, in particular, political behaviour and psychology; i.e. if something happens, what happens next and why?

Hi, my names Victoria Lynn and I'm currently in my final year studying LLB Law at the University of Leeds! My research focuses on the perceptions of school staff of autistic girls in secondary education, a topic which is heavily under-represented in the wider Autism literature due to the misconception of Autism being a 'male' condition, largely due to difference in presentation, and a higher number of autistic girls masking their Autistic traits. This topic is one which is also close to home, having had many of my own concerns throughout education regarding Dyslexia, which was often dismissed as I was not deemed to be "struggling enough." Both my own experience and my knowledge learned through researching this topic has inspired me to write my final year legal dissertation on the "right to inclusive education" (Article 24 of the United Nations Convention of Persons with Disabilities) of Autistic pupils in secondary education in England.

Hi! My name is Lia, and I am in my final year at Cornell University. I'm majoring in Government and pursuing an independent major that combines politics, international studies, and sociology. My first-year Laidlaw project was focused on researching Russian political parties in the lead-up to the country's 2021 parliamentary elections. During my second summer, I traveled to Choma, Zambia through the Laidlaw centralized project with Columbia University.

I am graduated in Business Administration from University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), with a double degree at the Kedge Business School (France). I had experience at Grameen Bank (Bangladesh), was ambassador of the Brazil Conference at Harvard & MIT 2016, Hansen Summer Institute Fellow 2017, Yunus & Youth Fellow 2018, finalist for the Folha de S. Paulo 2019 Social Entrepreneur Award (Grain Trophy category), One Young World ambassador 2021 and now LaidLaw scholar (2022-2023)! In 2015, I co-founded the Sao Paulo team of Litro de Luz, which brings solar lighting to communities without adequate access to electricity, and in 2016 assumed the presidency of the organisation in Brazil. My passion is to generate positive impact through social entrepreneurship!

Aki is an education entrepreneur, where her startup has worked closely with 5,000 children and parents. She is passionate about delivering quality education and improving gender equality beyond cultures. She holds a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School; bachelor’s degree in law from Peking University; Fulbright scholar, enthusiastic tennis player, and enjoys playing the piano.

Hello, I'm Ashmitha, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering and I’m from Collegeville, Pennsylvania. I have always found the intersection of biology and technology fascinating. I am motivated to learn different ways in which I can serve my local community by using science as a pathway. My creativity, problem-solving, and past experiences serve as forms of inspiration to me. I strive to pursue opportunities that challenge and broaden my perspective. In the future, I hope to attend medical school after a few gap years. On campus, I am involved in Global Medical and Dental Brigades, a club where we travel to rural communities in South American countries to provide medical services. I am an undergraduate researcher in the Schaffer-Nishimura lab, where I conduct Alzheimer's disease research. I am also a member of the product development subteam and recruitment chair for Biomedical Device, an interdisciplinary team that designs and builds biomedical devices. In my free time, I like to go on nature walks, run, listen to music, and read. I enjoy trying out new restaurants and hobbies like photography and painting.