Student Experience: University of Georgia Postgraduate Fellowship

Posted on: 12 July 2023 by Ammar Zafar in Blog

I was delighted to have been selected as one of four PhD students from the University of Liverpool to be awarded a Fellowship to the University of Georgia. The Fellowship is a part of a partnership between the University of Liverpool with the University of Georgia, designed to incorporate staff and student mobility across all discipline areas.

My research contributes to the big data and technology research theme, and the Fellowship created the opportunity to enhance research capacity in this area across the two institutions, notably by developing and examining the comparative research on economic and legal policy towards technology in both UK and USA. My supervisor and I had previously planned to utilise the Fellowship to plan, write and edit our co-authored article with the aim of submitting the paper in the fall, so it was great to be successful in the application.

While I was in Athens, Georgia, I was based at the Dean Rusk International Law Centre and had access to a wide variety of resources including both at law library and online materials. Although I work within technology and economic law, I was able to propose and collaborate on a project that was outside of my own area of expertise because of the collaborative opportunity offered by the Fellowship. My supervisor was open and receptive to my ideas, and we had some fantastic discussions that enabled us to refine our original idea. She was extremely supportive, especially when we began to work on areas outside of my comfort zone. Working alongside my supervisor, I was able to study corporate and banking laws, especially regarding company law and corporate governance.

Studying at the University of Georgia (UGA) allowed me to utilise my supervisor’s expertise and develop my own areas of research. This was an exclusive research opportunity created and funded by the Fellowship. My supervisor is an expert in corporate law studies, while I predominantly work with technology and economics laws. The collaboration of two sector studies in our article has proven particularly fruitful and generated an exciting piece of research which we are currently editing. My supervisor was also able to offer advice on the publication process in relation to legal journals, which will also be invaluable for my future career. I feel the Fellowship has given me a fantastic opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary context, which will also enhance my PhD project that considers a range of work from the legal diaspora.

To this end, I feel I have developed a new perspective on my degree subject by recognising the ways other approaches and studies enhance our analysis of literature. While America and the UK are perhaps not obviously dissimilar, I found the culture surrounding study and research at the University of Georgia to be vastly different from that of British institutions. My supervisor offered thoughtful reflections as we compared our research and teaching experiences, and I feel I have developed a clear understanding of the priorities of American institutions. To this end, the Fellowship created a valuable opportunity to learn about the international opportunities and environments in which we increasingly work.

I was also able to develop contacts with professionals in the field of law, finance, and technology, and it created professional awareness in relation to the sector during the Fellowship by meeting them and engaging in conference meetings where I had the opportunity to learn and exchange my intellectual ideas.

My research is on blockchain-based central bank digital currencies (CBDC). It seeks to investigate the potential of CBDCs to create a more financially inclusive and sustainable monetary system. The proposed thesis will be built upon an understanding of the current landscape and discussions surrounding CBDC implementation and its implications for financial inclusivity, privacy, and security. It draws upon existing literature and case studies of countries that have implemented or are in the process of implementing CBDCs. And Understanding the American dimension of its legal and economic policy toward technological advancement has provided me with grounded experience towards addressing the research question of my thesis particularly on the part of my thesis where I will be addressing inclusivity and sustainable economic analysis.

I had a fantastic academic experience at UGA, and I would strongly encourage making the most of opportunities such as these.

If you’re thinking about applying for this Fellowship, I have three top tips. Firstly, find the right supervisor. The right one will ensure you have an incredible time. Secondly, make sure you get the admin from the department taken care of before you head out there. This includes access cards – you’ll need them. And finally, if you head to Georgia, explore the culture, and experience the southern hospitality– it is fascinating and amazing.

Find out more

• Postgraduate Fellowship Application