Nominees for Graduate Section Co-President (2023-2026)

Marral Shamshiri-Fard (London School of Economics & Political Science)

I am a PhD candidate in International History at LSE. I am interested in the histories of the Iranian and Arab revolutionary lefts in the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s. 

I am excited to stand for the position of Co-President, BRISMES Graduate Section, for a second term to continue the brilliant initiatives we have recently established. My main priority area is to successfully oversee the upcoming launch of a Mentoring Network in January 2023 which I have worked on with Co-President Lucy Garbett. We developed this in response to the findings of a student survey we conducted last year, as the student need for mentors, community, and academic support was clearly expressed. At the BRISMES conference, we held a collaborative panel discussion on mentoring, and have built on the suggestions there to create a mentoring network that will benefit student members

I am proud of the work we have done for the BRISMES student and ECR community. I have organised annual skills-based workshops in partnership with CBRL on getting published in academic journals; applying for post-doc funding; and academic mentoring. I have hosted events with partner organisations on topics relevant for our student members, such as the Balfour Project. I will continue to actively listen to the needs of the membership for improved initiatives, and build our academic community by organising events and sharing resources that are important for the student experience and future careers of our members, while representing this community on the BRISMES Council.