IDEA Society: Research Officer

I'm Ashmit , a first-year HPE student at UCL. IDEA addresses real development challenges through building social enterprises in emerging economies ; Strong research is what makes those projects credible. I want to make that work sharper, better resourced, and more lasting.

What I bring:

1. Field research experience. Interned across civil society organisations and social enterprises, including CRY and DDU-GKY(India) , authoring research including a 17 page health/nutrition literacy report used to orient volunteers nationally.

2. Policy and market exposure. Worked & interacted  with policymakers, enterprises, and NGOs in India  building ground-level understanding of development ecosystems and where gaps for social enterprises sit.

3. Building systems that last: 5 years on student council and as MUN and Gavel Club President ,  consistently worked to build lasting frameworks. Same mindset here.

My priorities:

1. Project-facing research. Tailored emerging market briefs for each project team — political context, sector landscape, relevant social enterprise models — so members build on evidence, not assumptions.

2. Research-driven speaker curation. A structured pipeline mapping practitioners and policymakers in IDEA's target markets; more guest talks relevant to active projects

3. A repository that outlives the year. An active research database:  market profiles, past project learnings, policy briefings, that each new cohort builds on/can draw on  rather than restarting from scratch.

Working with the IDEA Society has been the standout experience of my Term 2. Being a winning team for the Emerging Economies Hackathon and helping scale solutions for Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) highlighted what I care about most: research that doesn’t stay on a page, but becomes something implementable, improves outcomes, has practical impact and sheds light on overlooked socio-economic issues. This is what makes IDEA Society unique!

What I’d bring & hope to add as Research Officer role is:

• Producing clear and accessible research briefs that translate complex academic insights into digestible content to increase awareness. 
• Spotlight high-impact organisations & under-represented issues,  highlighting innovative models such as BRAC's poverty-eradication model in Bangladesh. 
• Use my previous research-to-impact experience across various audiences: I've turned complex evidence into clear, actionable solutions- from Pakistan agriculture recommendations to community-grounded research (TCF/PWA), decision-ready frameworks (UCL Connect.ed), and accessible briefs (UCL Rethinking Economics). 

• Collaborating and liasing with other committees such as UCL Rethinking Economics to connect academic and policy debates to the real-world socio-economic issues they influence. 

  Thank you for your consideration, i'd really appreciate your vote 🙏💐! 

IDEA Society's projects and pitch competition are only as strong as the research behind them. If members are building social enterprise solutions for emerging economies, they need accessible, well-curated information about local markets, social challenges, and what approaches actually work — not just enthusiasm and good intentions.

As Research Officer, I'd focus on building practical resources that members can use: market briefings for countries where IDEAS Globally operates, case studies of successful social enterprises in emerging markets, and a research toolkit for pitch competition teams so they're grounding their ideas in evidence. I'd also want to produce regular content — similar to IDEAS Globally's professional IDEAS Insights but aimed at students — that keeps members engaged between events and positions IDEA Society as a thought leader at UCL. My background in data analysis, AI research, and writing accessible content about complex topics would support this, but the real value is in making sure IDEA Society's impact work is evidence-based, not just well-intentioned.

From my experience as research executive last year, the IDEA society offers a unique platform to think about and discuss systemic problems. The topics researched for events such as the hackathon, as well as for the social media posts, are truly intellectually stimulating and I am keen to continue exploring them. As a research offer, I would hope to further expand the range of topics covered. I enjoy extensive reading, keeping up with global affairs, and going down the rabbit holes of different topics while researching.  Moreover, I believe that I would be able to contribute to the collaborative and close-knit community developed in this society through regular meetings and events. I pride myself on my organisational skills and would aim to divide work systematically. I would enjoy listening to different members’ ideas or initiatives and helping us implement them. I hope to maintain the society's welcoming nature.