Dr Masha Shaw

Biography

I lead the Researcher Development team within the Postgraduate Research School. I am responsible for PhD researchers' professional development. I design and deliver an annual program of courses for researchers to develop their skills, and provide assistance with opportunities to put acquired skills into practice. I also run PhD competitions such as 3 Minute Thesis Competition and Images of Research Competition.

I have a background in Social Anthropology and have lived, studied or worked in research institutions in Russia, Germany and the UK. I completed my PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen and have worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany and in Aberdeen in the Department of Social Anthropology. In my academic capacity, I am also known as Maria Nakhshina, which is my maiden name.

I also worked as a project manager for a large-scale European Union Framework 7 project ARCTIC DOMUS (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/socsci/research/arctic-domus/index.php).

I have always aspired to have a more applied approach to my career and am using my anthropology background to pursue a people-oriented approach in my current role as a Researcher Development Adviser. I conduct ongoing research into current trends in the higher education sector, professional development, and researchers’ needs and aspirations in order to support researchers’ career progression in any employment sector.

Our team is open to any suggestions about professional development courses that PhD researchers at the University of Aberdeen would like us to deliver. Feel free to get in touch!