I am currently a doctoral student at the department. My research interests broadly include research on research, higher education and comparative international education.
I have experienced the field of university education from varied geographical lenses having read at six world renowned institutions starting from my Bachelor of Arts at Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), University of Delhi. Here, I had the distinctive feat of being a part of an international programme during each year of my course.
I represented LSR at National University of Singapore on one-year undergraduate exchange where I read modules under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. I pursued International Relations at King’s College London India Summer School. My second exchange was a master’s-level programme at Sciences Po Paris where I was part of the prestigious Paris School of International Affairs.
After a brief stint at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi just prior to the pandemic, I pursued a Master’s in China Studies as a Yenching Scholar at the Peking University, Beijing. The programme was funded by the Chinese Government Scholarship Council. At the Yenching Academy, I studied courses from varied disciplines and adopted my Chinese name “柯雅文”.
Thereafter, I joined University of Oxford for a second master’s programme. I completed my Master’s of Science in Higher Education and was awarded a distinction for my dissertation on Social Science Research in India: Traversing the ‘Global’ and ‘Local’ Terrain.
My DPhil study focusses upon India and China which is slated to constitute one-third of the world population. I intend to understand the research landscape prevalent across disciplines in sciences and social sciences. With my expertise in both the countries coupled with learning endeavours in premier institutions of knowledge production, I feel I have a unique vantage point to make a significant contribution to literature. I have enrolled into the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies to further enhance my skill set for the comparative studies.
Currently at the department I represent the DPhil student cohort on the Staff Committee. Apart from academics, I have keen interests in extra-curricular activities. At Wolfson College, I head the Feminist Society and I am a member of its Social and Cultural Committee. I am part of the University of Oxford’s Badminton team and a member of The Oxford Union, the foremost debating society in the world. I have a knack for debating having represented my previous alma maters in the capacity of debater, adjudicator, organiser and convenor for tournaments of national and international acclaim. I am serving as Director for Young China Watchers, London Chapter.
Selected Academic Engagements
- Worked as a co-researcher on the Centre for Global Higher Education project on Supranational Higher Education Spaces with Dr. David Mills and Dr. Natasha Robinson.
- Assisted with data collection for a project by the National Commission for Women, New Delhi on ‘Glass Ceiling for Women in Corporate Sector’.
Selected Research Presentations
- Presented dissertation findings at the Comparative and International Education Seminar hosted by Dr Maia Chankseliani at the University of Oxford.
- Presented on ‘Social Science Research in India: Navigating the Global and Local Terrain’ at the webinar by the Centre for Global Higher Education.
- Introduced the CGHE project-in-works in a presentation titled ‘A Tale of Two Cities: Exploring African Doctoral Students’ Experiences in Universities in China’ at STudents’ Ongoing Research in Educational Studies (STORIES) Conference 2024.
- Presented dissertation findings on epistemic coloniality in a presentation titled ‘Navigating ‘Borders’ of the Local and Global Terrain’ at STORIES 2024.
Publications
Kedia, V. (2023). Social science research in India: traversing the ‘local’ and ‘global’ terrain. University of Oxford.
Upcoming Journal Articles
- Working on a journal publication on ‘Border-thinking in Social Sciences Research in India’ with Dr Xin Xu and Prof Alis Oancea
- Co-authoring a publication on African doctoral students’ experiences in Chinese universities with Dr David Mills and Dr Natasha Robinson
Supervisors