Nino Zhghenti

Georgia

Sociology (MSc), 2008
St Hugh's College
Funding: Weidenfeld

Nino is an associate professor at the Free University of Tbilisi. She was part of the inaugural cohort of Weidenfeld scholars, undertaking an MSc in sociology. She previously obtained a diploma in applied psychology in Georgia.

Before Oxford, Nino worked as a researcher, on social projects for NGOs and the private sector. After graduating from Oxford, Nino started to work for the Georgian think tank, where she was involved as a civil society specialist. In 2015, she defended her PhD in sociology at the University of Milan, Italy. Her PhD thesis is on social protests in Georgia. In 2018, she became an associate professor at the Free University of Tbilisi.

Currently, she works on a research project - social capital and academic performance in tertiary education and, at the same time, she is in the process of writing a research monograph on social movement participation. She is planning to found her own research organization supporting social research and data analysis education in the country.

“I believe that macro-level social changes start from individual transformations. The later is not possible without exploration of inner and outer world. WHT shaped my personality in many different ways but most importantly, being a Weidenfeld scholar at Oxford showed me that, with regards to individual experiences, we all have a platform, big or small, and changes become possible once the magic of sharing happens. ”