Tatiana Intigrinova - AED MSc

MSc in Anthropology & Ecology of Development, 2002-03 (currently Anthropology, Environment and Development MSc)

• Dissertation: Factors defining cattle Transhumance in ulus Khoito Gol, The Republic of Buryatia, Russia

PhD in Anthropology, 2005-2009 (UCL)

• Thesis: Land, people and post-socialist policies in southern Siberia, 2009

Current position: Policy Advisor, Oxfam

Approaching cultures in their complexities from the first glance may appear a purely academic domain. As MSc. students in Anthropology and Ecology of Development we learnt that in fact, it is also best positioned for aid sector as well as for research for policy. We learnt that to help but not to harm as aid professionals we have to understand and take in all the factors influencing local people’s livelihoods, complexities of their social relations on all levels in and between families, communities, and nations; the role of institutions; and people’s interaction with natural environment. In development and especially in humanitarian settings it is quite a challenge to allocate time and resources for holistic understanding of the societies we work with but we’d better do it starting from formative studies to programme evaluation and policy development. I was lucky to be one of those who have been taught how such inclusive approach can be implemented and it has turned into my professional commitment in aid sector and policy development.