“The Dean’s Fellowship is a one of its kind predoctoral fellowship in Pakistan, and I will always look back at my time at Habib with a lot of gratitude for everyone who put in their love and energy into refining my research. It takes a village to raise a researcher, and I’m lucky to have found that village (and so much more) at Habib University.” These were the words of Ahsan Mashhood, Dean’s Fellow at Habib University who was recently accepted into the DPhil Program at Oxford University.
Oxford Bound: Celebrating Research Excellence
Habib University proudly celebrates the remarkable achievement of Ahsan Mashhood, a distinguished Dean’s Fellow, on his admission to the University of Oxford for a DPhil in Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation. This prestigious achievement is a testament to his exceptional scholarship and dedication to social change.
The Dean’s Fellowship at Habib University is a three-year, pre-doctoral program for emerging scholars. It provides extensive research experience, personalized mentorship, and teaching opportunities to prepare fellows for top-tier PhD programs. In the words of Mashhood, “Bringing the Dean’s Fellows together into an active network and support system of sorts is something I am proud of. It has been rewarding and often cathartic to see others go above and beyond to help, support, and nurture one another.”
Mashhood distinguished himself as a pre-doctoral researcher working at the critical intersection of youth mental health, stigma, gender, and social policy in Pakistan. His impactful research is exemplified by his published paper, “Sociocultural perceptions of suicide in Pakistan: A systematic review & qualitative evidence synthesis,” which directly tackles pressing issues of mental wellbeing and challenges pervasive stigmas. Grounded in a deep commitment to social justice, at Habib he combined research with teaching, instructing courses in Advanced Social Theory, Scientific Thought, and Quantitative Research Methods.
During this journey, Mashhood also got more clarity on the kind of instructor he would like to be, where instead of offering lecture-based classes, he preferred conversational ones, acting more like “a facilitator of dialogue” rather than a traditional teacher. This unique style of teaching allowed him to keep his students engaged and interested in the core discussions of the classrooms he led.
Building a Community of Researchers
He has described the Dean’s Fellowship as a unique initiative, noting that “it takes a village to raise a researcher, and I’m lucky to have found that village at Habib University.” This interdisciplinary environment was crucial to his development, allowing him to reframe his own research through insights from history, literature, and the arts.
The entire university commends Ahsan Mashhood on this well-deserved accomplishment. We are confident that he will continue to be a powerful advocate for evidence-based policy and look forward to his future contributions to the field. We wish him the greatest success at Oxford.
