This event was a student careers panel, providing an opportunity to hear insights from panellists covering diverse fields of academia and research, journalism and consultancy in/around the Middle East.

Meet the speakers

Richard Barltrop is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. Since 2001 he has worked for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and regionally, and for the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan and the UN political mission in Yemen. He is the author of Darfur and the International Community: The Challenges of Conflict Resolution in Sudan (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, 2011/2015).

Nada Bashir is an award-winning International Correspondent based at CNN’s London bureau. From reporting on the war in Gaza, to devastating natural disasters, Bashir has delivered distinctive coverage of some of the most consequential stories impacting our world, with a particular focus on the Middle East and Europe.

Alexandra Gomes is a Research Fellow responsible for coordinating spatial analysis across a range of projects at LSE Cities. Committed to shaping the future of cities through innovative research and education, her focus spans socio-spatial comparative analysis, urban policy, inequalities, health, sustainable mobility, public space, urban sensescapes, and visual communication.

Mina Toksoz is an International Economist having worked at the Economist Intelligence Unit variously as Editorial Director of the Middle East, Europe, and the Country Risk Service. She was Senior Equity Strategist EMEA at AbnAmro, Senior Manager of Country Risk at Standard Bank and later Lloyds’ Bank.Toksoz is author of The Economist Guide to Country Risk published by Profile Books in 2014, and co-author of Industrial Policy in Turkey, published by Edinburgh University Press in 2023.

This event was chaired by Professor Michael Mason, LSE Middle East Centre.

Michael Mason is Director of the Middle East Centre. At LSE, he is also Professor of Environmental Geography in the Department of Geography and Environment. He is interested in ecological politics and governance as applied to questions of accountability, security and sovereignty