Hi there! I’m Ben and I am currently a Law student at Somerville College. Some quick facts about me: I’m always down for a game of football; I am amazing at peeling oranges; I was so excited about testing mealworm-patties as a meat substitute I ended up consigning 5 friends to the loo subsequently. Since I was 15, my dream has been to run a think tank that works hand in hand with communities to problem-solve. In pursuit of this, I have been trying to understand development through different lenses. I have worked on multiple student-consulting projects for NGOs, am part of a small microfinance initiative operating in Kenya, and have spent 9 months working in Greek refugee camps. More recently, I spent a few months in Kenya & Uganda researching into livelihood and employment opportunities of migrants. I hope that FTRU will be a small step towards realising that dream and can’t wait to see where this project goes.

Hello! I'm Ananya, the VP, and I'm studying PPE at Corpus Christi College. While not working on FTRU, you can find me debating, playing Classical Guitar or editing for a publication. While not having as much hands-on experience in aid as my impressive colleagues, I've worked in think tanks and research projects for various organisations. Its from this angle of bridging academic research with real-world impact on development that I'm most excited to explore FTRU - to try to improve how we can help communities help themselves. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing FTRU develop in our mission to improve bottom-up aid.