Why did you choose your MSc and Edinburgh Futures Institute
Before joining Edinburgh, I was already working in Kenya at the intersection of education, gender and economic opportunity, supporting young women to access skills, education and pathways into work. I kept encountering a bigger question: why do some inequalities persist even when programmes, funding and opportunities exist?
The MSc Data, Inequality and Society stood out to me because it allowed me to examine inequality beyond individual outcomes and think about the systems, institutions, data and power structures that shape those outcomes.
EFI particularly appealed to me because of its interdisciplinary approach. I wanted to connect my background in technology and data with my experience in education and development. Edinburgh gave me the space to bring those worlds together and, importantly, to study questions that were directly connected to the communities and challenges I work with in Kenya.
How did you get to where you are?
I am the Executive Director and Youth Workforce Transitions Lead of Circle Group Limited, a Kenyan social enterprise working to improve education-to-work transitions for 1,500 young rural women by 2028. I lead a team of over 30 young people delivering programmes that support women through education, skills development and pathways into employment and self-employment.
My undergraduate background was in Informatics, but my career gradually brought me into education, gender and youth employment. Working directly with young women from rural communities made me realise that access alone does not eliminate inequality.
EFI gave me a framework for interrogating those deeper systems and taught me to question the assumptions behind the data we use to define problems and measure success. I now ask not only, “What does the data show?” but also, “What is missing? Who defined success? Whose experience is not being captured?”
This way of thinking has directly influenced how I lead programmes, design interventions, engage partners and use evidence in my work.
What did you gain from your time at Edinburgh Futures Institute / the University of Edinburgh?
The most important thing I gained from Edinburgh was not a single technical skill. It was a different way of thinking.
My favourite course at EFI was ‘Decolonisation of Data’. It taught me to become more comfortable questioning what appears obvious. Data can look objective, programmes can look successful, and policies can look inclusive, while still hiding important inequalities. I learnt to ask who produced the knowledge, whose experiences are represented, whose are absent and how power influences what eventually becomes accepted as evidence.
This has stayed with me professionally. In my work with young women from rural communities in Kenya, I am increasingly conscious that numbers such as enrolment, completion or employment rates only tell part of the story. Understanding inequality requires listening to lived experience and examining the social and cultural systems surrounding those numbers.
Personally, EFI also gave me confidence in the value of knowledge that comes from places like rural Kenya. I stopped seeing communities simply as places where research or development interventions happen and became more interested in how communities themselves produce knowledge.
That shift continues to influence the kind of leader, practitioner and researcher I am becoming. It has also shaped the questions I want to keep exploring around data, education, gender, technology and development in Africa.
Tell us about your Futures Project
My Futures Project explored culturally responsive technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for women entering non-traditional trades in rural Kenya.
I was interested in a question that came directly from my professional experience: what happens when we encourage women to enter traditionally male-dominated trades such as electrical work, welding or automotive-related fields, but the training systems and surrounding communities have not necessarily changed with them?
Partnering with a rural TVET in West Pokot, Kenya, I examined how culture, gender expectations and local realities shape women’s experiences of technical and vocational education.
Rather than treating culture simply as a barrier, I explored how TVET could respond more effectively to the communities they serve through curriculum, mentorship, family and community engagement, institutional practices and the learning environment.
The project was particularly meaningful because it allowed me to connect academic research with a challenge I encounter in my work in Kenya. It changed how I think about programme design.
My advice to future EFI students is to choose a question you genuinely care about. The project becomes much more meaningful when it is connected to a problem you want to continue working on after graduation. Don’t be afraid to experiment either – EFI gives you the space to thrive, use it, especially the makers space.
Do you have any highlights or a favourite memory of your time at the University?
One of my greatest highlights was the friendships I made with my course mates. EFI brought together people from different countries, disciplines and professional backgrounds, and I loved how much we learnt from one another. I particularly remember this from Interdisciplinary Futures, where the same question could lead to completely different perspectives depending on who was around the table.
I also really enjoyed Insights Through Data. Seeing myself grow in confidence, from feeling like an amateur to becoming more comfortable working with and representing data, was exciting. I especially enjoyed seeing how differently we could interpret and visualise the same information. I might bring experiences from my work in Kenya, while someone else approached a problem through technology, policy, design or engineering. Those differences challenged my assumptions and made learning much richer.
Edinburgh also gave me something I did not realise I needed: space to simply think. Away from the everyday urgency of motherhood, leadership, budgets, targets and deadlines, I had room to be curious again… to read, question, have long conversations and explore ideas without immediately needing an answer.
I treasure the friendships I made, but I also treasure that season of having the space to learn, think and rediscover my own curiosity.
What advice would you give to someone considering studying at Edinburgh Futures Institute?
Come to EFI with questions, curiosity and an open mind.
Allow yourself to be challenged. Read beyond your field, learn from people whose lives and experiences are different from yours, and bring your own story into the classroom.
Coming from Kenya, I learnt that my context was not something I needed to leave at the door. It became one of the most valuable lenses through which I could question ideas, contribute to conversations and make sense of what I was learning.
But also, enjoy Edinburgh! Your education will happen beyond the classroom too. Go to the Fringe, wander through the Christmas Market, join societies, and spend time in the Meadows.. even when it is freezing! Explore the city, build friendships and say yes to experiences you might normally overlook.
The degree will eventually end. Make sure you leave with an education, but also with memories.
