Ali Abd Alatef graduated this summer with a master’s degree in Gender Studies (Middle East and Islamic World) from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, earning an overall Distinction. His dissertation was awarded a mark of 80 - High Distinction.
Before arriving at Exeter, Ali had already been working across gender, media, translation and civil society spaces. Since 2018, he has translated development, feminist and gender-related content, including through Wikipedia and the Bait Al-Hikma 2.0 project. He also volunteered with several associations and community programmes, alongside becoming involved in field research and working with organisations and research centres, gaining experience in how social questions are studied, documented and communicated.
Ali’s path into journalism developed alongside this work. In 2023, he completed a journalism training programme with Awan Media, supported by International Media Support, and went on to contribute to several Syrian and regional platforms.
In 2024, after receiving the IAIS Masters Excellence Scholarship from the University of Exeter, Ali was supported by Jusoor through the Open Call Scholarship. Jusoor’s support helped cover remaining costs, supported his access pathway to the UK, and provided mentoring and mental health support during an important transition. This made it possible for him to take up his place at Exeter and focus more fully on his academic and professional development. His master’s thesis examines gender discourse and civil society in post-2011 Syria.
Alongside his studies, Ali also completed an internship through the University of Exeter, working with Age UK, the UK’s leading charity for older people. The internship allowed him to apply storytelling and communication in a different professional context, while gaining insight into public-facing work within the UK charity sector. He was later nominated for the 2025 University of Exeter’s employability awards in the International Intern category.
Since September 2025, Ali has continued to work across media and communication. At UntoldStories, which publishes SyriaUntold and UntoldMag, his work as Outreach and Social Media Manager remains connected to questions of storytelling, representation and political language. In his role as Communications Lead at The Loop Drug Checking Service in London, he works in a different but equally sensitive field, where public health communication requires accuracy, care and attention to different audiences.
He is also continuing to consider future research possibilities, including how gender, media and communication can be studied in relation to the Syrian context. These questions remain connected to a broader commitment to strengthening gender research on Syria, contributing to more careful media representation, and supporting the production of knowledge that can benefit Syrian communities and public discourse.
Congratulations, Ali. We are proud to have supported this work, and we are looking forward to where it goes next.
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