Are you a student of global development or a related topic with an interest in development? A student can be an undergrad, masters or PhD candidate or recently qualified doctor! You can join the DSA for £11 and be part of a supportive community. 

The DSA is pleased to welcome new Student Representatives to our governing Council. 

Tegan Hadisi joins us for a three-year term and is a doctoral researcher in International Development at the University of Oxford. Her research lies at the intersections of large-scale infrastructural projects and visions of the future in West and East Asia. Beyond her doctoral work, she is co-authoring a book ‘Migrant TikTok: The Struggle for Digital Power’, which explores the effects of digital platforms on migration narratives. 

Joining her for a one-year term is Roxanne Tiemann who is undertaking an MSc in International Development Management at the University of Bath. Before her postgraduate studies, Roxanne worked in the disability sector in German social services, supporting people with mental health conditions in accessing meaningful employment and strengthening social participation. This deepened her interest in person-centred support and cross institutional collaboration and she is now particularly interested in international contexts of inclusion.

In addition to their experience as practitioners and researchers they are both keen to bring voices from their universities and global voices to the student group. 

Tegan is seeking to engage her own community at Oxford as well as the wider development student communities. She is hoping that together they can find active candidates for the remaining student representative positions that are available to all DSA Institutional members. 

Tegan also has a vision to expand opportunities. “Having worked with students from across the world, in West Asia, across various African countries, including Kenya and Morocco, I see how much higher the barrier to engagement is for those in non-Western institutions. I hope we can affect some real change that will allow international students and early career researchers, including those outside of the UK, to engage with DSA in meaningful ways from presenting research, hosting events, and attending the annual conference.”

Inclusion is also an important aspect of Roxanne’s nomination. “I want to strengthen inclusive participation across the Development Studies Association by making opportunities more visible and accessible for master’s students and early career researchers. I want to improve communication between institutional representatives and the wider student body, create clear channels for feedback and open spaces where collaboration feels natural and meaningful. My goal is to help emerging scholars feel supported, represented and connected within a diverse and inclusive community.”

If you’re a student under the DSA’s broad definition we encourage you to join the DSA and become part of the student network. You’ll be automatically added to a list to receive emails from the Student reps – something they will be streamlining to make a regular efficient service. 

You can also ask to be a representative for your university if it is an institutional member, see the list here. Email Tegan or Roxanne if you have questions about this. 

If you don’t have a student rep at your institute but have something you’d like addressed by the DSA then get in touch with Roxanne and Tegan with your ideas. Funding and support is available for some activities but there are timelines and guidance to adhere to. 

If you want to volunteer to organise an event with no cost, such as the Writing Support sessions or the webinar on blogging then let Roxanne, Tegan and Rowena the communications lead for the DSA know. You can get inspiration for activities from previous rep Sheila Ronoh and the GDI Students for Palestine conference.