“It opened a door to a path I had never imagined”: Zahra’s Middlesex Journey

Starting my Middlesex journey

If anyone had told me when I started my master’s at Middlesex University that a few years later, I would be doing a PhD, I probably wouldn’t have believed them.

I came to Middlesex with several years of professional experience in health, safety and environment. My career had been very much focused on practice: identifying hazards, managing risks, applying standards and finding practical solutions to workplace problems back in my home country. When I chose the MSc in Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management (Strategic Leadership in Occupational Safety and Health MSc), my goal was quite simple. I wanted to develop professionally, strengthen my knowledge and become better at what I was already doing.

Discovering a passion for research

What I didn’t expect was how much that decision would change the direction of my life. During my time at Middlesex, I started looking at problems differently. I became interested not only in what we do in professional practice, but also in why we do it. Through assignments, discussions and independent study, I learned to search for evidence, read research critically, question assumptions and build an argument based on what the evidence showed. Research gradually became more than something I needed to do for an assignment. I realised that I genuinely enjoyed the process of asking questions, investigating them and trying to understand the answers.

Building my professional experience

My experience at Middlesex also encouraged me to become more involved in the wider occupational safety and health community. During my studies, I became involved with IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health), and being recognised as a runner-up in an IOSH student competition 2024 was a particularly proud moment for me. It gave me confidence that what I was learning and developing as a student could have value beyond the classroom. My connection with IOSH continued after my studies, and it has remained an important part of my professional development.

Perhaps the biggest change, however, was in the way I saw myself. Before Middlesex, I saw myself primarily as an HSE professional. By the time I finished my Master’s, I had started to see another possibility. I could be a researcher too. That possibility eventually became reality. Today, I am pursuing a PhD at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar and conducting my research at the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute. My doctoral research focuses on atmospheric aerosols and their measurement and characterisation.

A path I never imagined

Looking back, this is why I can genuinely say that studying at Middlesex was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It was not simply about earning a master’s degree or adding another qualification to my CV. It changed the way I thought, gave me confidence in my academic abilities and opened the door to a path I had never imagined for myself. Sometimes education takes you exactly where you planned to go. And sometimes, if you are lucky, it shows you a completely different path.

Learn more about the MSc in Strategic Leadership in Occupational Safety and Health at Middlesex.