Dr Maísa Edwards

Can you tell us about your PhD? 

I am an international peace and security specialist. My PhD was a joint International Relations PhD, awarded by King’s and the University of São Paulo. My project analysed Brazil's membership of the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS). The aim was to examine Brazil's diplomatic and defence relations in the South Atlantic region, and especially with other members of ZOPACAS in South America and West Africa.  

What stage are you at with your PhD?

I passed my viva in June 2023, so just over a year ago. It has been wonderful to finish my PhD! Waking up and remembering that I have successfully completed it is a great feeling. Now I'm in the process of finishing my book proposal. I also had an academic journal article published last year, which I am super proud of. You can find it in the Conflict, Security and Development Journal.

Did you experience any challenges during your PhD?

When I started my PhD at King’s, my main challenge was dealing with COVID-19. I had been in Brazil for six and a half months during my second year and had to rush home to the UK. I am half Brazilian, so I could have stayed there, but I am glad I came home and was able to be with my family. Lockdown was challenging for all of us, but we all did our best to keep motivated in our research. I was lucky because I was passionate about my PhD topic and had a great support system around me.

How did you choose your PhD?

After my undergraduate degree in French and Spanish at University College London, I had the opportunity to work abroad in Guadeloupe and at CNN. I later did my MSc at the King’s Brazil Institute. My supervisor was excellent and he encouraged me to continue my research and pursue a PhD.

What has it been like to do a joint International Relations PhD?

One of the best things with studying the joint PhD is that we get a dually awarded doctorate from King's College London and the University of São Paulo and we get to meet and work with some great people. My cohort and I are such a close group of colleagues and friends. We are all get on very well and hang out often. We also collaborate on our research and share knowledge. Doing a PhD can be quite a solitary task, so having a support network around you, beyond your supervisor and family, is really important. They are the ones that really understand when you are agonising over your theoretical framework, for example!

How easy was it to move to Brazil?

My mum is Brazilian, so as a child I travelled to the country to visit my extended family. I speak fluent Portuguese and also have Brazilian nationality. So I knew the city of São Paulo very well already when I went there for my second year of my PhD. It was more of a case of just adapting to living there for a longer period. I also have family in São Paulo state who I could visit.

Can you share an interesting finding from your PhD?

Yes! Whilst I was doing research at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry archives in Brasilia, I found out that there had been a planned ZOPACAS ministerial meeting in Benin in 2003 that no one knew about. While it didn’t end up taking place for mostly logistical and financial reasons, it was quite a pearl to find in the archives  –  and really fascinating for those of us in this field of work.

Also, by some incredible stroke of fate, the ZOPACAS had its eighth ministerial meeting in 2023, at the end of my PhD. That's after 10 years of dormancy. It felt truly incredible for this to happen when it did, and has led to lots of good things. I was invited to speak, for example, with a senior desk offer at the UK Ministry of Defence, as well as at a meeting with the Political Section in the Brazilian Embassy in London. I also had a virtual meeting with representatives from the US Embassy in Brasilia. Getting invited to talk about my research was very cool.

What are you doing after your PhD?

A week after I passed my PhD in June 2023, I began working at ResPublica and the Lifelong Education Institute as a Policy Researcher. I was then later promoted to Senior Policy Researcher. This role was alongside my teaching commitments at King's in the Departments of War Studies and European and International Studies as a graduate teaching assistant.

I also had the opportunity to teach in July 2023 and July 2024 as an academic tutor at the King’s Pre-University International Relations Summer School and continue to teach now in the 2024 – 2025 academic year. I am currently teaching in the Departments of War studies and History departments at bachelor's and master’s level as a graduate teaching assistant and an hourly paid lecturer.

I really like teaching, and I am always trying to get the most out of my students. I like them to be focused, but also inject an element of fun into the sessions. I love active learning, so sometimes my students engage in debates, group work, or sometimes a game that teaches them key concepts.

Why did you choose King’s?

King’s is a very prestigious place and one of the most reputable for the study and research of International Relations and War Studies. I also wanted to keep working alongside the wonderful professors and lecturers that I worked with during my PhD and who taught me during my master's. King’s also has an excellent Brazil Institute which is where I did my master’s and PhD.

Did you go to any events during your PhD?

I have also been a part of events and undertaken research for King’s as part of the Circle U European University Alliance. King’s is one of the members, along with institutions like the University of Pisa, the University of Oslo and the University of Humboldt.

I was a part of a funded research project on Digital and Media Literacy, where I was awarded a €2,000 grant to do research and produce a report for the World Expression Forum (WEXFO). I am also part of a group project which received a €10,000 grant to examine how hierarchies can affect interdisciplinary research.

Did you use the Careers Service at King’s?

The careers events I have been to have always great. I have been to many over the years, including those focusing on defence and employability, and working in government. I have had a lot of one-to-one appointments as well. My careers advisor was always super friendly, and overall just amazing and helpful. The support advisors provide is so instrumental to career development. This is so important now when so many more people are going to university. It means we also need to marshal the skills that we are developing to suit the job market.

How did you get your policy think tank job?

Academic publications have a huge currency in our field, but I wanted to show that I could also write policy papers and think pieces, which helped me land the job. I saw it advertised on LinkedIn through a friend's profile who had been working there for about a year. I sent him a message asking whether I should apply and if I'd be a good fit for the role. He said, absolutely! The job was great, and focused on education policy and skills development.

How did you find support during your PhD?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were all dealing with stress and anxiety. I am not normally an anxious person, but it felt like the world was collapsing on itself. Doing a PhD at the same time, whilst feeling so personally responsible for my own commitment and drive, was a challenge. I was therefore lucky to have access to the King's counselling services. My counsellor was great. It was awesome to feel like I had somebody who could guide me through the professional angst and stress, but also have a giggle with!

Was there anything about doing a PhD that surprised you?

I always knew that doing a PhD would be a lot of work, but now I realise just how committed you need to be to get through it. A full time PhD is normally four years and requires a lot of dedication, so that is a lot of time to commit. I think you have to always work to stay motivated.

What would you like to do next?

I've applied for a quite a few lecturer positions. It's very competitive, especially in International Relations. You have to keep your spirits up when you get rejections and not get put off. I am going to continue applying. Meanwhile, I've got two articles that I need to finish editing before I send them off to journals. But I am keeping my options open; my experience at the thinktank was really useful for my development and I now have a written a lot of policy papers and think pieces. I am definitely keeping an eye on what is out there!

Anything you have learnt about doing a PhD that you would share with someone just starting?

I wish I'd known more about how lonely doing a PhD can be  – even if you have great friends and a wonderful community within your research department. My friends and I feel like PhD warriors who have survived and thrived through these years of intense research and study. Anyone and everyone can have a bad day, where they can’t face looking at their work anymore, but the experience is instrumental in teaching you how to be your own biggest cheerleader. 

There is also something I have heard that is really helpful to remember. During your PhD, you don’t need to achieve something enormous or groundbreaking. You don’t need to win a Nobel Prize, go to the moon or cure cancer; you only have to make a good contribution to your field, even if it is something small. The main thing is that it is original. And this is something you can forever be proud of. So don’t be hard on yourself, whatever you bring to the table counts!

Any top tips for choosing a PhD?

If you are thinking of doing a PhD, you should shop around. See what is available and check that the PhD is linked to funding. If you get a funded PhD, that is a huge load off your mind knowing that you and your research are funded and you have money to live and pay your bills.

Read the work of academics you are interested in and see if they are taking on PhD students. If there's anyone you think would be good to do a project with, reach out to them. Send them an email, introduce yourself and let them know you want to do a PhD.

It is also worth giving yourself the space and time to decide and choose. I have friends who did their undergraduate degree, then a master’s and then a PhD back-to-back. Pretty much all of them ended up feeling utterly exhausted by the end of this academic marathon. As much as having PhD at 26 or 27 is super cool and flashy, it is fine to do it later. I personally submitted at 30 and defended at 31; and I have friends who are doing their PhDs in their 40s. The time needs to be right for you.

Doing a PhD is a massive commitment, so you should do it only if you really want to. Don’t do it to put a cherry on top of your education, but because you have something that really interests you. It isn’t like an undergraduate degree, where you might pick something that gives you the chance of a good job. The aim of a PhD is to advance research in some way, shape or form, and spending four years on the same topic requires real determination.

How does it feel to have a PhD?

Having my PhD is something that I will be forever proud of. My grandmother passed away in February 2024, so she was alive to see the photographs of my PhD graduation in the Royal Festival Hall in January. I will always be grateful that she was able to see that. I'm her youngest grandchild and while she would tease me, saying I would have made a wonderful medical doctor, I was able to tell her, "Granny, I wanted to study international peace and security and I did a PhD in it. So I am a doctor in another way –  the PhD kind, instead of an MD".

How important do you think PhDs are for women in particular?

I had dinner with an old school friend a couple of weeks ago. We have both done PhDs and agreed that as younger women, having a PhD in a professional setting can make a big difference. This can especially be the case in male-dominated fields. Being addressed as Dr Edwards boosts equality and reminds me that I have earned my place at the table and that my contributions should be listened to.

Bringing greater visibility to excellent women pursuing PhDs who are in academia is important. I organised an event in April 2024 for the King’s Brazil Week called ‘Women in Academia: A Spotlight on Brazil’. My fellow panelists and our chair spoke in depth about our experiences as women in academia, in particular as women who are Brazilian and studied in Brazil and abroad. There were many stories about how as women, we have to work so much harder to prove ourselves in academia. This can be also more challenging in male-dominated professions or in certain countries. Having a PhD from King’s is a huge help, as it is a world renowned university in International Relations and other disciplines. It was a really good experience which a great platform to shine a spotlight on us as women doing really interesting research!