Tala Al-Chikh Ahmad

Fulbright All-Disciplines Postgraduate Award - University of Chicago

Tala graduated from the University of Oxford in 2026, where she read Arabic and French at Somerville College as a Crankstart Scholar, including a year abroad in Jordan. Her work explores how refugee protection and post-conflict reconstruction can better respond to the lived experiences of displaced communities. This interest shaped her time at Oxford, where she served as President of the Iraqi Society and Co-President of Oxford Student Action for Refugees, alongside roles in the Syrian and Arab societies. Beyond the university, Tala has interned with NGOs across three countries: supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Cyprus, working with young refugee women through sport in Jordan, and conducting beneficiary interviews and analysing programme inclusivity in Kenya. These experiences continue to shape how she thinks about humanitarian practice, dignity, and long-term recovery. At the University of Chicago, Tala will pursue an MA through the Committee on International Relations, strengthening the policy grounding behind her fieldwork. Through Fulbright, she looks forward to connecting with researchers, practitioners, and communities working on refugee protection, and to building a career that bridges humanitarian practice and refugee policy. Outside her studies, Tala is a keen thrifter and looks forward to exploring Chicago's vintage and second-hand shops.