In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with fellow MPP students Anushka Jadhav and Rafaela Viana about the 2024 Education World Forum, their personal education journeys in India and Brazil respectively, Education Policy in Oxford, and some of the major education policy issues and developments globally. Anushka and Rafaela also reflect on their time at Oxford and in the 2023-24 MPP cohort, and offer advice and inspiration to future students.

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Anushka Jadhav is an educational professional with over seven years of experience, based in Mumbai, India. As a co-founder of an educational trust (NCFW), she has engaged students and institutions in meaningful discussions about gender norms and discrimination. At Whistling Woods International (WWI), Anushka led the curriculum development and served as a faculty member. She also spearheaded India's venture into media and film education for grades 9-12 under the Delhi Board of School Education. As the Creative Director at Gaysi Family since 2016, she has worked extensively to mainstream narratives from the LGBTQIA+ community through diverse initiatives. She has also actively participated in fellowships with change.org and the British Council.

Rafaela Viana dos Santos is from Sao Paulo city, Brazil and in 2021 obtained her undergraduate degree in international relations at the University of Sao Paulo. She has pursued studies and attended conferences in Taiwan, China, and Egypt. Rafaela's four years of professional experience are mainly in the ESG field, including sustainable development finance and government projects. As such, her key policy interests are ESG, sustainable development, China, the third sector, and project management. Likewise, she has extensive experience working in non-profit and non-governmental organisations. Rafaela enjoys travelling, playing with dogs, and watching movies. Rafaela is a Chevening Scholar.

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Podcast, Mykhailo Kiktenko speaks with Manal Fouani, the UNDP Chief of Country Support and Oversight for the Regional Bureau of Arab States. In 2022, Manal served as the UNDP Resident Representative ad interim in Ukraine, where she led the organization's response during the full-scale Russian invasion.

We discuss her leadership in navigating this crisis, transitioning from sustainable development to emergency relief and resilience building. Manal shares the challenges she faced, the critical decisions she made, and the moments of inspiration that sustained her.

We also explore how emergency response can align with long-term development goals and gain insights into human resilience during conflict.

Join us for an inspiring discussion on the intersection of policy, crisis management, and human resilience.

In this episode, Erik Kucherenko speaks with Professor Dapo Akande, Oxford Chichele Professor of Public International Law, Co-Director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, a Member of the UN International Law Commission.

We discuss how the International Law Commission functions behind the scenes, how Professor Akande prepares for pleadings in the International Court of Justice, and how one of the biggest international law blogs (the European Journal of International Law) works from the inside.

We also explore the latest trends in the development of international law, discussing in detail Professor Akande's opinion on the attempts to confiscate Russian sovereign assets and establish an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

Professor Akande also shares his current academic interests and how they evolved over time.

Anindita (Dita) is a member of the 2023/24 MPP Cohort . In this episode, host Oluwatamilore Oni and Dita discuss:

• Dita's experience at the Central Bank of Indonesia and how her experiences during the MPP have influenced her new perspectives on life, work and policy
• How to prioritise activities and times in the swirl of Oxford
• Dita's top tips for incoming students to maximise their time at the Blavatnik School and University of Oxford more broadly

Dita really wanted to focus on sharing insights and tips to ease the incoming students’ transition. We hope it will be helpful for all those preparing to begin their MPP journey!

His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki of Nigeria’s Edo State joins MPP student Mobayo Oguntunde to discuss the policy and politics behind some of his signature achievements, creating an environment for results and how Nigeria might address some emerging policy challenges.

Lord Christopher Patten is the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, having served in the role since 2003. Lord Patten was the 28th and final British Governor of Hong Kong, who oversaw its handover to the People's Republic of China in 1997, symbolically marking the end of the British Empire. Lord Patten was also a Conservative Member of the UK Parliament from 1979-1992, where, as Conservative Party Chairman from 1990-1992, he was credited with architecting the election of the Major Government.

In this episode, Nick Fabbri speaks with Lord Patten about:

• His lifelong relationship with Oxford University
• The state of higher education in the United Kingdom - including freedom of speech on campus and the rise of cancel
• The Israel-Hamas war, and the University of Oxford's response to recent student protests and demands, and his work with Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Lord Patten’s Governorship of Hong Kong and the 1997 handover
• The current political situation in Hong Kong and the erosion of civil and political rights, and hope for Hong Kong's future
• The rise of China and its increasing authoritarianism
• Reflections on the recent 14 years of Tory rule in Britain, and
• The future of right of centre political movements in the United Kingdom

In this conversation, Erik Kucherenko and Artem Shaipov speak with Oleksandr Novikov, Head of Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention between 2020-2024, about his experience of building state capacity.

We discuss the implementation of Objectives and Key Results methodology, business school training for civil servants working on anti-corruption, and the role of organisational mission and values. Oleksandr shares his successful experience of building an effective institution and recommends books that motivated him to achieve these recognised results.

Damien Shannon is a DPhil candidate in Economic and Social History at New College, Oxford.

In this episode, Nick and Damien speak about:

• Damien's experience in suing Oxford University over its admissions criteria, which initially prevented him from taking up his degree place on financial grounds
• Educational access and equity
• Damien's current DPhil research on the abolition of tenure at British universities and the impact on research outcomes and long term institutional performance
• The history of universities as institutions from their earliest roots in Bologna and Oxford
• Intellectual freedom and the ideal conditions for free inquiry
• Sir Keith Joseph and the economic and philosophical foundations of the Thatcher administration
• The corporatization of universities and modern employment conditions for academics