Hello there! I'm Ashiya, a member of the 2025 Laidlaw Leadership & Research Programme Cohort. I am a student at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, pursuing a double major in Peace, Conflict & Justice and Ethics, Society & Law. My passion lies at the intersection of education and the governance of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. I am currently exploring how this affects children facing socioeconomic disadvantage through my Leadership-in-Action project in North-East England. This builds on my previous work in student voice advocacy, my research of Indigenous-led education initiatives in Canada for my first Laidlaw summer, and my new role as a Center for International Governance Innovation Digital Policy Hub Fellow.  I look forward to reading and contributing to the incredible body of work on this platform. Outside of research, I love to read, explore, learn new things and make new friends - please feel free to reach and connect anytime! :) 

BSc Sociology student at the London School of Economics with an academic interest in the use of social research to enhance our understanding of the contemporary political environment, and inform more equitable policy and governance.

Hi everyone, I'm Jasmine, and I'm studying BA Geography at LSE. I'd like to consider myself as an at least partially competent social scientist, but my particular interests are in modern history, gender, and urban studies. I'll happily waffle on about any of those things, and I'm always excited to meet people with shared interests. Outside of academics, I enjoy ballet, marvel, disney music and playing with my dog.  I wanted to become a Laidlaw scholar because I enjoy doing research, and I wanted to see if I could take my burgeoning skills outside of university to make a difference (an utter cliché, I know). I'm hoping to do that this summer with my LiA working for Variety, a UK-based charity that looks to support children with disabilities from disadvantaged backgrounds. I will be running a research project investigating where there are gaps in the capacity of these children to access assistive technology, and what we can do about it. If you're interested, if you have any ideas or knowledge, send me a message or an email!