Rabeya is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics and was recently nominated by the University to apply for the Advance HE, National Teaching Fellowship scheme in 2025.
‘What do you want to be?’ Asked my mum when I started my undergraduate degree in Economics in Bangladesh. ‘I want to be a teacher at the University… or sixth form college… or school’, as the conversation progressed with what if I cannot achieve that.
When I applied for the commonwealth scholarship, one of my teacher-colleagues of the University of Dhaka, Professor Shamsuddin Ahmed, mentioned in his ‘open’ recommendation- ‘Rabeya will be an excellent academic, nationally and internationally’. That made me think- do you really need to exaggerate while writing recommendations? I think he’d be smiling now, with the news of my nomination to apply for National Teaching Fellowship.
After my training as an economist at the University of Manchester, and a short experience of teaching at the University of Dhaka, my career as an academic in the UK began in 2016-17. While navigating the challenges to know the system, I was struggling to innovate- ‘why there are so many rules and regulations here?’ I am pleasantly surprised to look back now; it took me only five years to systematize my innovation- to scope, design, and offer MSc Economics with Data Science program at Bristol that experienced tremendous growth, coinciding with a sector-wide expansion within a couple of years of launching ours. My program focuses on developing 21st-century skills, embracing diversity, and connecting academic research with real-world problem-solving. The first cohort had remarkable outcomes—100% of the students succeeded in their studies, with several securing prestigious job offers and opportunities for further education before they even graduated.
One of the most significant innovations in the program is the group dissertation model, where students conduct teamwork-based independent research. The idea came from my ‘empathetic problem-solving’ skills and the economist in me applied several economic theories unconsciously which I am only starting to realize while I reflect on the first cohort outcomes. In order to solve the intrinsic free-rider problem in a teamwork setting, I’ve adapted the equity share model. However, realizing that this was not enough by itself, I embedded ‘repeated game’ strategies by coaching the students from the first term with formative teamwork assignments. The latter was topped up by running sessions on my learning from the leadership training for the students.
With majority international students in our MScs, my mixed method research on academic advising suggested some potential barriers for international students engagement- language being one of them.When I proposed that the students deliver a summative presentation at a showcase event to disseminate their dissertation findings, I faced real pushback from colleagues. I was ambitious but proud to overcome these challenges; after attending a couple of presentations during the first showcase event, my head of school mentioned – ‘I owe you an apology.’ But as you know- you get the most satisfaction by successfully completing the hardest challenge – the feelings after the first cohort’s session was not just for me, but also for the students- earning me the precious hand-crafted ‘best tutor award’. I am humbled by the honour to be nominated for NTF from Bristol, though I am not sure if the joy of wining it could surpass the joy of receiving this personal trophy.
Well done and good luck Rabeya!
Ma’am, Proud of You! Always.