Globaldev careers: The researcher

LONDON — Early in her career, Nilima Gulrajani faced a choice: Take a job at the World Bank following a master’s degree, or study for a doctorate at the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholarship candidate.

Eventually she chose the latter, starting her off on a career as a researcher specializing in the governance and management of foreign aid — although she still ended up working at the World Bank for a while. She is currently a senior research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, a London-based think tank, having previously held an academic posting at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Gulrajani’s expertise recently came to the fore when the United Kingdom government suddenly announced a merger between the former Department for International Development and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, an issue she had studied before. As a result, she was asked to rapidly produce a policy paper and handle requests from the media.

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