Maryam Toorawa is a DPhil student in Higher Education at the Department of Education.  Her research focusses on decolonisation, activism, reform, and subjects related to justice, equity, diversity and  inclusion at universities and colleges.

Maryam completed her B.A. in International Studies at Bryn Mawr College and earned her MSc in Higher Education at Oxford University. Her master’s dissertation used the Capability Approach to evaluate the value of Foundation Year programs in the British Higher Education landscape.

Her doctoral research uses Critical Race Theory to study the motivations for activism and reform in university spaces. Before starting doctoral research, she worked for the UK Department for Education, participated in the Ambitious Futures Graduate Scheme for University Leadership, and worked in the private sector.