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** Please note this event is for internal King's College London students and staff**
Meet some of our alumni and other doctorate professionals, who after completing their PhDs have successfully transitioned to careers outside academia. Be inspired by their pathways and learn key strategies and tips in navigating this transition.
Bios
Ali Hawks is the co-founder and CEO of BMNT, Ltd., a defence and security start-up helping governments solve their toughest problems. She is also the Executive Director of The Common Mission Project, a registered charity that delivers the “Hacking for” education programmes. She was previously the Director of Research at the Section 809 Panel, a US congressionally mandated commission tasked with streamlining and codifying defence acquisition. She has been an Assistant Professor at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and is a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Security Studies, King’s College London. Previously, she was a Lecturer at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London, and has lectured in American politics at Brunel University, as well as numerous undergraduate courses in the Department of War Studies. Her doctorate thesis was in military sociology. She has published her research and given numerous presentations on her work in the U.K., U.S., and Sweden. Alison received her PhD from the Department of War Studies, King’s College London and her MA in Strategic Studies from the University of Leeds. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Matthew Harries is a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). After receiving his PhD in War Studies from King’s in 2014, he worked for the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) as a postdoctoral research associate. From 2015-18 he was managing editor of Survival and a research fellow (later senior fellow) at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He then worked as a staff member for the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee from 2018-19, subsequently serving the Committee as a specialist adviser, before joining RUSI in July 2020. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna, and was previously a trustee of the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC).
Matthew Kearns graduated with his PhD from Newcastle University in 2019. His research investigated contemporary British military recruitment practices and their relationship to military masculinities. He now works as a senior case-handler for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, the higher education ombudsman for students in England and Wales.