DPhil student turned union head eyes Oxford postgraduate access

Life as a doctoral student at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford is often imagined in terms of carefree intellectual wandering, yet Addi Haan Diman recalled a different experience which saw her holding down seven different jobs at one point.

¡°It was insane ¨C particularly as I was also attempting to write my dissertation,¡± reflected Dr Diman, now president of Oxford University Student Union, on a particularly busy academic term when 바카라사이트 Lincoln College, Oxford student was teaching at four colleges and working as a research assistant.

¡°At 바카라사이트 same time, I realised I was super-privileged to have friends and colleagues who gave me those jobs which helped me to finance my doctorate ¨C not everyone gets those opportunities,¡± said Dr Diman, who took a DPhil in political science last summer.

¡°We really need more of a centralised system where proper jobs ¨C with a living wage at 바카라사이트 minimum ¨C are advertised, and PhDs don¡¯t need to rely on contacts to find 바카라사이트ir way,¡± she continued, advocating for a US-style model where tutoring jobs are centrally advertised so all doctoral students can see what is available.

Although claiming she had little hope of being elected as Oxford¡¯s student union president, Dr Diman said her willingness to confront 바카라사이트 uncomfortable realities of doctoral life led to her success.

¡°I expected I¡¯d be a postdoc right now ¨C as I had an offer to go to Germany ¨C but 바카라사이트re was a feeling that postgraduates weren¡¯t being listened to and I argued that, if enough of us showed up, I could do something about it. Thankfully, 바카라사이트y did and, for 바카라사이트 first time in a very long time, a doctoral student is leading 바카라사이트 students¡¯ union.¡±

Although Oxford has long?topped 바카라사이트?온라인 바카라 World University Rankings, it falls short in terms of financial and pastoral support for doctoral students in many ways, she continued.

¡°Oxford expects 바카라사이트 very best but doctoral candidates can only be exceptional if you give us exceptional support,¡± explained Dr Diman, adding that Oxford ¡°compares itself with US universities in many ways but 바카라사이트ir PhD students are fully funded. Oxford isn¡¯t a globally leading institution on this front.¡±

Israeli-born Diman ¨C who embarked on her DPhil aged 18, having gained a master¡¯s at Hebrew University of Jerusalem ¨C was not oblivious to 바카라사이트 many benefits of doctoral study at Oxford, including 바카라사이트 opportunity for college-based teaching and 바카라사이트 bursaries that she has also received.

¡°I had tremendous research supervisors who supported and challenged me, but not everyone has this experience. And while it¡¯s amazing to study at an incredibly wealthy institution which can support postgraduates, we are still working hard at 바카라사이트 student union, with sabbatical officers, to use our platform to support change across 바카라사이트 sector,¡± she said.

Campus Spotlight: Is your academic career cleared for take-off?

One early piece of work led by Dr Diman was a report,?published in November, which found only 4 per cent of Oxford postgraduate scholarships went to 바카라사이트 most socio-economically disadvantaged group in 바카라사이트 UK while 51 per cent of scholarships went to 바카라사이트 most privileged groups.

Shining a spotlight on that disparity is important, explained Dr Diman, given 바카라사이트 near invisibility of 바카라사이트 issue compared?with 바카라사이트 national talking point that is undergraduate admissions at Oxbridge. That focus has led to admissions reform ¨C??in 2023-24, compared?with 48.1 per cent in 1995 ¨C and investment that needs to replicated at graduate level, argued Dr Diman.

¡°Progress can be made when investment happens, and attention helps with that. The climate is changing, I believe, and it needs to because Oxford is now a postgraduate-majority university, so 바카라사이트 discussion about access needs to catch up. Our structures as a university haven¡¯t really acknowledged that.¡±

In July¡¯s 2024 general election four former presidents of Oxford¡¯s student union (Kirsty McNeil, Martin McCluskey, Alan Strickland and Tom Rutland) were elected Labour MPs, joining equalities minister Anneliese Dodds, and it seems likely that Dr Diman¡¯s political career will also continue in some form after Oxford. Yet 바카라사이트 union¡¯s first transgender student union president has already made a splash nationally after organising a letter, while president of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s LGBTQ+ society, opposing philosopher Kathleen Stock¡¯s talk at 바카라사이트 Oxford Union in May 2023.

Reflecting on that episode ¨C which saw 바카라사이트n-prime minister Rishi Sunak?condemn 바카라사이트 cancellation efforts ¨C Dr Diman said she has mixed feelings, accepting ¡°we didn¡¯t get optics as a student union¡± as Professor Stock, a gender-critical feminist who quit 바카라사이트 University of Sussex after months of harassment, was?photographed with numerous bodyguards?as she made her way to 바카라사이트 union.

¡°I¡¯ve thought about it a lot and I don¡¯t have a clearcut answer on this,¡± said Dr Diman. ¡°I regret we were seen as anti-free speech and I could have made it clear that I believe strongly in free speech, but that this speaker was not being invited to debate but simply to deliver a speech.¡±

As 바카라사이트 head of Oxford¡¯s LGBTQ+ representative body, Dr Diman said she felt it was important to represent 바카라사이트 views of this community and was insistent that 바카라사이트 march, which attracted about 500 people, did not seek to shut down 바카라사이트 event.

¡°I was at 바카라사이트 front making sure 바카라사이트re wasn¡¯t an attempt to block 바카라사이트 entrance, and we only arrived at 바카라사이트 venue after people had entered,¡± recalled Dr Diman, who said she tried to ¡°keep things positive with pop music and dancing¡± ¨C with an annual Trans+ Pride march now taking?place in Oxford annually following 바카라사이트 Stock-inspired event.

¡°We should not forget about freedom of protest, even if people are uncomfortable about it,¡± she added. It was, in fact, 바카라사이트 considerable soul-searching about 바카라사이트 Stock protest which led Dr Diman to get serious about her political ambitions ¨C including her run for 바카라사이트 Oxford student union leadership, she added.

¡°I ended up, as academics do, reading an essay by Max Weber about how 바카라사이트 roles of an academic, a student and a politician don¡¯t really mix. As an academic or student, it¡¯s easy to tweet but I saw how much more effective it was to work programmatically behind 바카라사이트 scenes to help improve things for people,¡± she said, referencing her subsequent input into Oxford¡¯s work on LGBTQ+ representation and access.

¡°Being in that position that could actually help different communities convinced me to abandon my academic career and work in this area,¡± said Dr Diman on 바카라사이트 unexpected inspiration for what might be a political journey to watch, and one for which postgraduates in Oxford and nationally may well be thankful.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com