Maria Alvarez, Writing up Grant 2023
"Through the IJURR Alumni Network, I was reconnected with Aireen Andal, a fellow 2023 Writing-Up Grant awardee and a former colleague... Aireen and I are now collaborating on a grant application for a project on children’s geographies and urban futures in resettlement, which braids our research interests."
Zhiwu Wei, Studentship 2023
The support of the IJURR studentship allows me to take risks in experimenting with novel datasets and cutting - edge research methods, without worrying about financial concerns. I am also proud of being a member of the prestigious IJURR alumni network."
Carmen Abouambra, Studentship 2023
"Using the funds from the foundation, I was able to step away from the multiple part time roles I was working on at the time, to focus solely on my PhD"
Giovanna Lucio Monteiro, Studentship 2023
"I had to make a significant change in my research and initiate a documentary research approach, utilizing the digital collection provided by the Palestinian Museum Digital Archive...the IJURR grant will assist me in visiting the physical archive in Birzeit and the refugee camps in Beirut"
Martin Eyong Tarh, Writing up Grant 2023
"Thanks to the grant, I could relocate to... a safe suburb just a few minutes from campus. This move has significantly reduced my daily commuting expenses, and... I no longer worry about safety concerns while leaving the library late at night."
Sanjana Khrishnan, Studentship 2023
"This studentship has allowed me to immerse myself in the research context, engage directly with key stakeholders, and have ample time to gather data and process it."
Bojana Babic, Writing up Grant 2023
"Due to the pandemic I was unable to return to Berlin .. until I did receive this precious IJURR support. This grant, therefore, not only supported my living costs, but also of my overall return to the university life after a long and unexpected absence."
Prerna Singh, Studentship 2023
"The generosity of the fieldwork grant has allowed me to move to India, to attend conferences and build a research network... this has given me an incredible opportunity to network with other awardees and build research relationships."
Guilherme Nascimento Minarelli, Studentship 2022
"The IJURR Foundation award made it possible for me to fulfil a great dream of coming to MIT to work as a researcher. The studentship covered my airfare, my arrival and living costs for 4 months."
Laura Sobral Rodrigues, Studentship 2022
"This support has become even more relevant in my personal experience since the national policy in my home country in relation to scientific research and academia has been completely scrapped in recent years, leaving all national scientists, who were obliged to seek international funding for the necessary structure to carry on with their work."
Rita Nasr, Writing up grant 2022
"The Beirut port blast and other political events that took place in my country affected my research progress and I had to make changes to the previously planned site visits... Besides, the regressive economic crisis that dominates my country , left me financially handcuffed as I could not receive any fiscal support from my family. Collectively, these events caused uncertainties and delays to my PhD studies and with the help of the IJURR write - up grant, I was able to overcome financial obstacles and to confidently continue working on my research"
Elmond Bandauko, Studentship 2022
"Through the IJURR award , I also piloted new qualitative methods such as participatory photovoice with street traders . Photovoice is an action research focused method which combines photography, critical dialogue, and narratives to highlight the experiences of marginalized groups and drive social change."
Selam Robi, Writing up Grant 2022
"The IJURR foundation write up grant was a lifeline during the stressful final months of the thesis when my university scholarship funding had ended...It helped me make the transition from the PhD to employment in my first academic job."
photo credit: "Tour of Hawassa Industrial Park, 25 May 2018" by Paul Kagame is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Alexandra Lamina, Studentship 2022
"Having secure research funding to work in remote communities that face mobility /connectivity limitations allows me to creatively and efficiently combine research and advocacy actions during my fieldwork activities"
Persis Taraporevala, Writing up Grant 2021
"The simple process of application and reporting for the grant demonstrates that this is a funding opportunity that focuses on the wellbeing of the student."
Anurag Mazumdar, Studentship 2021
"Without the Foundation’s grant, I would have found it difficult to conduct in-person fieldwork, especially during Covid-19 and frequent lockdowns"
Inge Salo, Studentship 2021
"In my particular experience, completing the research proposal has been challenging and the funds received from the studentship has helped me navigate this stage of my program by enabling me to attend a PhD student writing workshop."
Persis Taraporevala, Writing up Grant 2021
"The IJURR Foundation’s Writing-Up Grant made it possible for me to focus on my writing during a deeply uncertain time. The Covid-19 pandemic required me to re-evaluate the scope and methodology of my thesis while closed borders and changed fieldwork plans resulted in a need to quickly adapt to new living conditions."
Studentship Holder, 2021
"I am very grateful to the IJURR Foundation for the funding offered in the studentship. I hope the IJURR Foundation will continue to offer similar opportunities to junior researchers who are passionate to develop innovative and critical knowledge in the fields of urban and regional studies and social sciences."
Clare Wan, Studentship 2021
"As Covid also has impacted the number of potential respondents I could interview, I used a part of the financial support to hire two local research assistants to help me tap into broader local networks to locate respondents."
Burcu Köken, Studentship 2021
"Being rewarded by the IJURR Scholarship is academically fulfilling and mentally and financially settling. I consider myself very lucky to be among the IJURR alumni."
Prerona Das, Writing up Grant 2021
"The IJURR Foundation writing-up grant has helped me immensely during the final thesis writing phase of the PhD journey. Moreover, the award itself being a prestigious one has given me some recognition and has made my resume stronger."
Saumya Vaishnava, Studentship 2021
"I was concerned about the cost of travel if I was unable to take public transportation, which was subject to government restrictions and was potentially a riskier means of getting around. The IJURR Foundation award provided me with the finances to travel safely to and from my various research archives and documentary research sites."
Studentship Holder, 2021
"The IJURR Foundation Studentship award has been fundamental for my dissertation research. Last semester (Fall 2021), when it still didn’t feel safe to travel around in Brazil due to the ongoing pandemic, a small portion of the award helped to partly cover my living costs and “in absentia” tuition."
Brena O'Dwyer, Writing up Grant 2021
"Because I was able to solely focus on writing I was also able to present my work at 45 Annual Anpocs Conference (Brazilian National Association for Graduate Studies in Social Science) in the Working Group “In the nets of “gender violence” against women judialization: ethnographies, affects, advances and setbacks in the South American context”
Xi Lu, Writing up Grant 2021
"The successful application for this grant has improved my self-esteem and inspired me to learn more about the interactions between social, economic, and political processes in urban and rural environments. This grant has additionally given my resume a boost. It helped convince potential employers, resulting in a successful job application in academia and a fellowship with UNDP."
Brandon Finn, Studentship 2020
"The IJURR studentship was immensely helpful to me during 2020, and I must express my sincere thanks for your support. It allowed me the freedom to continue my PhD research despite the immense difficulties caused by COVID-19. Because of the IJURR grant, I was afforded the possibility to focus entirely on my PhD research, and develop new areas of academic enquiry. "
IJURR Foundation Community
Over the 27 years since it was established, the Foundation has supported hundreds of outstanding scholars around the world. Some have gone on to work in academic positions, while others have moved into a diverse range of careers and positions. Here our rich network of alumni share their views on how the Foundation has helped them achieve their goals.