Alexander Tziamalis
Foreign students in the UK: their profile, migratory trajectory and aims
Supervisors: Dr Megan Blake and Dr Dimitris Ballas
A little about me…
My academic trajectory started by studying Economics for five years in Piraeus and Athens. By the end of my studies and after a short period of working in Athens and thinking about my life, I decided that my mounting scepticism in the foundations of conventional economic theory as well as my instinctive reluctance to work in a bank should be taken seriously. I then embarked on Masters studies in Social Psychology in London. My initial ambition was to integrate social psychological theories and knowledge to economics.
Wisely giving up the ambition to spark a revolution in Economics, I am now studying for a PhD in the Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, on the topic of foreign students in the UK.
...and my research
In search of an interesting research topic one may only need to take a look around him. And specifically at the person sitting next to him in a classroom.
Counting more than 300,000 individuals in the UK, contributing more than £7 billion per year to the economy and forming a precious talent pool, foreign students are certainly a group of migrants worth examining.
I am particularly interested in the decision-making process as well as in the social and subjective significance of studying abroad. It is likely that migration for educational purposes forms a peculiar personal "investment" where future financial and career considerations interact with the social imperative to work or study abroad. Another dimension should also be sought in the active individual; in people trying to liberate themselves from the constraints of their home country, make a step towards a desired self and write their own biographies. Processes and explanatory dimensions that are also both challenged and strengthened by an established historical as well as practical and legal context.
In dealing with this dauntingly complex phenomenon, I am using a multi-methodological approach. I wish to combine both quantitative and qualitative data acquired from a secondary statistical data analysis, from an internet survey and personal interviews.
Studies
- 1998-2002: BSc in Economics, University of Piraeus, Athens Greece
- Oct. 2002- Dec. 2003: MSc in International Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business, Greece.
Thesis title Role Playing and Economics - 2004-2005: MSc in Social Psychology. London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Thesis title Social Psychology and Educational Decisions - 2005-... PhD in Geography; Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, UK
Working Experience Worth Mentioning
- October 2000 - January 2001: Internship at the Emboriki Bank as an Actuary's Assistant. Athens, Greece
- September 2003 - June 2004: Teaching Economics on a High-School level for Vlachioti Institute. Athens, Greece. (After school preparatory classes for the Greek National University Entry Exams)
- July 2004 - September 2004: Working for the "Olympic Games 2004" as a Transportation Manager Assistant. Athens, Greece.
My research is funded by:
The Department of Geography, University of Sheffield
The International Office, University of Sheffield
Other interests
Literature, chess, computer games, daydreaming
Contact details
Please don't hesitate to send me an email at Alex.Tziamalis@sheffield.ac.uk