From activism to academia: Zeba’s journey to UCL

Zeba Farah Haque (Alumna, SoL) has recently achieved the prestigious Commonwealth PhD scholarship to pursue doctoral research at University College London (UCL), adding to a remarkable journey in the making. An environmental activist at heart, her academic interest revolves around environmental law, climate change, and human rights.

Zeba shared that her academic pursuit was more of a gradual build-up through years of mooting, researching, debating and field experiences rather than a spur-of-the-moment realisation. Graduating with Highest Distinction and the Vice Chancellor’s Gold Medal from BRAC University, Zeba kept finding answers to questions where environmental challenges and human consequences intersected. This eventually led to the completion of her LL.M. from Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) with Highest Distinction, moving on to a fully funded LL.M. at the University of Kent with the Dean’s Award.

Through BRAC’s Urban Development Programme and the Centre for Peace and Justice, Zeba’s learning experience extended outside traditional boundaries. She was directly involved in group discussions and communication while working on Rohingya refugee rights, prisoners’ rights, access to justice, and paralegal implementation. These experiences showed her the humane side of legal research beyond academia.

Realising she shines the brightest amidst academia, it dawned on Zeba that she was ready for her doctoral research. Now a Commonwealth PhD scholar, her research will broadly examine climate change and human rights in the Bangladeshi context, a place where thousands of lives are already being impacted by the climate crisis. She hopes to return with knowledge that can bridge Bangladesh’s climate realities with meaningful legal reform.

For emerging researchers, Zeba advises them to simply seek genuine interests rather than replicate someone else’s achievements by saying, “What matters much more is whether the things you do gradually form a direction that makes sense for you.”