Thomas Zaugg (He/Him)

Student studying Life Sciences Engineering, EPFL
Hey there! I’m a CS student from EPFL! I’m interested in understanding human brains in a numerical way - so I decided to explore around starting from neuroscience! I’m also very into different kinds of outdoor sports, which always allow me to jump from one thought to another. Feel free to ping me if you want to talk about something interesting!
Edie Vernol

Geography Student, Durham University

Hello! I'm Edie, a Physical Geography student at Durham University, with aspirations to enter the sustainable agriculture and environment world once I graduate. I'm really interested in how we can marry together the developing needs of humanity in a time of climate change and planetary uncertainty. 
Sophie Cooper

Laidlaw Scholar, University of St Andrews

My name is Sophie (she/her) and I am from South Wales but am currently studying International Relations and Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews. I was a part of the 2024 Laidlaw cohort.  My Laidlaw research project explored how nostalgia for life in the former East Germany continues to affect politics in today's reunified Germany, in particular Germany's foreign policy towards Russia. For my LiA project, I went to the European Centre for Minority Issues and created 'digital stories' about national minorities in the Germany-Denmark border region.   In my free time, I like to read anything i can get my hands on, as well as cook a lot and try different recipes from around the world. I also really love travelling and exploring new places.  I'd love to connect with someone who is interested in politics and diplomacy or otherwise shares my interests. And if you have any questions about my research, I'd love to chat about it!
Trisha Bhujle

Laidlaw Scholar Alumna & Former Laidlaw Scholars Advisory Board Member, Laidlaw Foundation

Hello! I’m Trisha, a graduate of Cornell University from Texas, USA. I majored in Environment and Sustainability with a dual focus on food systems and wildlife conservation, and minored in International Relations. My interests in combining my enduring passions for writing and wildlife conservation have driven me to explore multiple perspectives on highly-controversial issues such as trophy hunting, retaliatory animal killings, and illegal wildlife crime. Thus, during my first summer as a Laidlaw Scholar and as a member of the Morally Contested Conservation team, I wrote a literature review on the interconnectedness of climate change and human-wildlife conflicts in East and southern Africa. In June and July 2024, I furthered this research by traveling to the University of Oxford and to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area in Tanzania, and returned to Oxford and Burunge in June and July 2025 to report my results.  As an aspiring conservationist, I am passionate about making technical scientific information more accessible to the general public. I speak Marathi, Spanish, and Swahili at varying levels of fluency and plan to continue to grow my language skills to communicate conservation challenges across continents and cultures.  The Laidlaw Scholars Program was an invaluable component of my undergraduate experience. The friendships I made, as well as the research and language skills I began to develop, encouraged me to continue to ask and seek answers to complicated questions about global affairs and environmental science. If anyone has questions about the Laidlaw Program, is interested in collaborating, or just wants to say hello, please feel free to email me at trisha.bhujle@gmail.com!
Olamide Obadina

Global Business student , Trinity College Dublin

Hi! I am a 4th year undergraduate scholar at Trinity College Dublin studying Global Business, and I am currently on my study abroad in ESCP Paris. My research project centres on the importance of female leaders from ethnic minorities in the business C-suite & the necessity for better racial and gender diversity on executive boards worldwide.  I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing new things on this journey!