Sharon Tao
Institute of Education, University of London
In 2009, I was a full-time doctoral student at the Institute of Education and although I was over the moon to have a paper accepted by the UKFIET conference, I was in need of assistance in order to attend. Luckily, UKFIET offered a merit/needs-based bursary for students and I was very fortunate to be granted this award. It allowed me to present my paper on applying the Capability Approach to school improvement interventions in Tanzania – an area of exploration in my doctoral studies – and receive a great deal of valuable feedback from those attending my presentation. I also gained a tremendous amount by attending a myriad of interesting presentations within the conference. Suffice it to say, going to the UKFIET conference was an incredible opportunity for me, not only as a contributor, but especially as a learner. I have since finished my PhD and have continued to present at the 2011 and 2013 UKFIET conferences, garnering valuable feedback on papers that were eventually turned into published journal articles. I am now an Education Adviser for Cambridge Education (currently posted on a DFID-funded education programme in Tanzania), and continue to look forward to attending the UKFIET conference, not only for its academic and practitioner contributions, but also for the opportunity to touch base with old and new contacts.