Shahana Akther

I am currently a third year PhD researcher in Human Geography at the University of Manchester.

My PhD research draws analytically from work on waste politics, resource recovery and waste governance. The aim of my PhD project is to understand how traditional municipal solid waste management has evolved towards sustainability in Dhaka, Bangladesh and whether this can be done adaptively. Using qualitative, ethnographic research methods and document analyses, I explore the social, economic, and political dynamics of municipal solid waste governance and how they have changed over time towards sustainability.

In my PhD project, I will explore the governance opportunities for delivering sustainable municipal solid waste management in global south cities, as well as how challenges can be minimized.

Beyond my PhD, my research interests include urban governance, infrastructure, urban livelihoods, and climate change.

The research that I am conducting is critically constructive, grounded, and reflexive, and I am interested in exploring methods and approaches centred around actor involvement, power dynamics, and environmental management.

I am fortunate to have two excellent supervisors overseeing my PhD: Professor James Evans and Dr. Nate Millington.

Since 2021, I have been a mentor for the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK - Mentoring Programme. 

Prior to joining the PhD program at Manchester, I worked as a faculty member in the Department of Geography and Environment, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh for seven years.

Teaching Assistant:

2023-2024

• Human Geography tutorials (First year undergraduate students)
• GEOG10401 Environmental Processes and Change: The Global System (First year undergraduate students) 

2022-2023

• Human Geography tutorials (First year undergraduate students)
• GEOG10401 Environmental Processes and Change: The Global System (First year undergraduate students: Supporting Prof Jamie Woodward, Dr Christopher Darvill and Dr William Fletcher)
• GEOG10501 Introduction to Landscape Ecology and Remote Sensing (First year undergraduate students: Supporting Dr Richard Figueroa Alfaro, Dr Jennifer O'Brien, Dr Polyanna da Conceição Bispo)

2021-2022

• Human Geography tutorials (first year undergraduate students)
• GEOG31072 Asian Workers and the Labour of Globalisation (Third year undergraduate students. Supporting Dr Jamie Doucette)
• GEOG10432 Introducing Human Geographies 2 (First year undergraduate students. Supporting Dr Aurora Fredriksen)