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Meet the new cohort of Early Career Research Fellows

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Supporting social impact research at Oxford

The Skoll Centre is thrilled to announce the 2023-2024 cohort of Early Career Research Fellows. The fellowship recognises and supports early career academics working to generate knowledge that accelerates social impact, and is available to academic researchers across the University of Oxford. The Early Career Research Fellowship aims to: 

  • Cultivate a community of early career academics interested in social impact here at Oxford.
  • Deepen the Skoll Centre’s relationship with early career researchers in Oxford and beyond.
  • Amplify early career researchers’ work through the Skoll Centre’s networks and public channels.

We are thrilled to welcome Mahreen, Lennon, Minerva and Sugandha to the the Skoll Centre community, support their research projects, and accelerate social impact research at Oxford University.

Professor Marya Besharov

Professor of Organisations and Impact and Academic Director of the Skoll Centre

Mahreen Khan

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Dr Mahreen Khan is a senior postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford. She is a development economist focusing on issues of labour mobility and migration, human capital and skills acquisition, and youth entrepreneurship. Her current works explores the impact of non-cognitive skills, entrepreneurship accelerators, and large-scale labour migration on youth labour markets in low- and middle-income countries. She has extensive and diverse work experience in the international development sector. She completed her Ph.D. from MIT Sloan School of Management. She holds a Master’s in Applied Economics from Paris School of Economics, and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Management from MIT. 

Mahreen's ECRF project:

Understanding and designing effective solutions for catalysing green entrepreneurship amongst youth in Nairobi. 

Find out more about Mahreen's work

Lennon Mhishi

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Dr Lennon Mhishi is a Project Researcher at Pitt Rivers Museum on the project Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and Beyond Museums funded by VW Stiftung. He is an anthropologist whose interdisciplinary work spans interests in Africa and its diasporas, the afterlives of slavery and colonialism, and the approaches to contemporary forms of exploitation, forced labour and human rights in different African countries. He has experience in migration and diaspora, heritage, music, and other arts-based, creative approaches to knowledge making and engagement. He is keen to pursue a research agenda, curatorial and museum practice that centres community-engaged, collaborative, antiracist, and inclusive practice. 

Lennon's ECRF project: 

Exploring sustainable community leadership and engagement for museum transformation. 

Find out more about Lennon's work

Minerva Singh

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Dr Minerva Singh is a Researcher at the Nature Based Solutions Institute (NBSI), where she focuses on identifying the role of nature-based solutions in improving infrastructure resilience. From 2018-22, Dr Singh was a Research Fellow at the Imperial College London, where she focussed on implementing machine learning solutions for implementing and monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She has more than a decade's experience working at the interface of AI and SDGs.

Minerva's ECRF project: 

Using AI for nature-based solutions for emerging nations’ coastal megacities. 

Find out more about Minerva's work

Sugandha Srivatav

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Dr Sugandha Srivastav's work lies at the nexus of the economics of innovation and environmental economics. Her research explores how to bring early-stage technologies to market and the role of R&D support, advanced market commitments and other de-risking instruments. She explores how society can most efficiently incentivise investment in technologies that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver upon broad societal goals. 

Sugandha's ECRF project: 

Understanding how long-term risk hedges brought down the cost of capital for early-stage solar projects in the UK, and other market-based alternatives. 

Find out more about Sugandha's work

Based at the University of Oxford, the Skoll Centre researches how social change happens and brings a community of academics, students, and practitioners together to generate experiences and insights that spark change. Leveraging these insights, the Centre’s educational programmes equip entrepreneurial leaders for impact – at Oxford and worldwide. Find out more about our work.