I’ll begin by encouraging all students to take advantage of university services such, as Careers Network. These have been very helpful in guiding me to make well informed career choices. The staff are very friendly and are always willing to help where they can.

Being invited to present my work to UN delegates at the UNECE Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety in Geneva, Switzerland. It was personally, professionally and academically a huge achievement for me in one go.

My course has equipped me with multiple transferrable skills, from the PhD research itself, through to being a PGTA, publishing journal articles and presenting at conferences. I have also had opportunities to network with other professionals in my field, including other researchers, which has encouraged me to have a clear understanding of what my goals are after completing my studies. My department has very knowledgeable and helpful staff, who are supportive whenever we need them. We also have access to the best publishing journals in my field.

I received a fully funded scholarship from the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC), which has been very helpful indeed. Firstly, it has given me an opportunity to realise my dream of pursuing a PhD. Secondly, it has allowed me to fully concentrate on my studies, rather than having to think about how to sustain my needs through working additional jobs, which can be stressful at times. I would recommend trying to obtain funding for your PhD studies where possible.

I have always been enthusiastic about education, spending my formative school years in Uganda, along with my undergraduate degree at Makerere University. I followed this up when I completed a masters’ degree at the University of Birmingham. My father told me at the time that it was a huge opportunity to realise my dreams of pursuing a PhD, if I scored high grades from my masters. Thinking about this fact always encouraged me to put in as much effort as possible, and fortunately enough, I managed to obtain a Distinction at master’s level. Due to limited finances, I could not proceed to do PhD immediately, so I went back to Uganda and started my lecturing career. Later, I was lucky enough to be selected for funding by the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC), UK, which led me to starting finally my PhD in 2021.

As an Assistant Lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda, I required a PhD to qualify for a permanent Lecturer position. Fortunately for me, the PhD also gave me an opportunity to dive deeply into an area that I am extremely passionate about.