In honour of her motto ‘Life is too short, don’t waste it’, Munira Aminova from Uzbekistan is working on an impressive career in the academic, public and private worlds. After obtaining her PhD at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Munira is currently teaching at the Brussels School of Governance (VUB) and has been working on various missions for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), numerous UN agencies, the EU’s Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ projects. Munira is the perfect example of someone who applies her academic background to question the challenges she faces in her consultancy assignments, turning theory into practice.
You chose to pursue a PhD in political sciences a couple of years after you obtained your degree in Birmingham, UK. Any reason why?
“Actually I was able to study in Birmingham thanks to a scholarship scheme of the Uzbekistan government, which allowed young professionals, after a competitive examination process, to study abroad and to work as a civil servant for 5 years upon return. This cohort of people were meant to reform the country after independence and shift to a market economy. (Editor’s note: Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan declared independence.) I had an interesting career in the public sector and later in academia, held various academic posts and only later decided to pursue a PhD.”
“The university I worked for in Tashkent had an Erasmus Mundus mobility grant, out of 6 different European universities my choice was to come to Vrije Universiteit Brussel. I had lived in Birmingham (UK) and Indianapolis (US) before, but when I landed in Brussels in March 2008 I immediately fell in love with this city, due to its vibrant culture and energy. It became my place to be!”
After your studies in the UK and a career as a civil servant in your home country Uzbekistan you arrived in Brussels to start a PhD. What was it about?
“During my PhD I did research on the governance in transition economies. I was looking at the change in the governance processes and the shift of post-Soviet countries from central planning to market economy.”
“I started my PhD in the Economics department but finalised it in the Political Sciences department. As the focus of my research was public administration and governance, after a while it became clear to my supervisor, Professor Marc Jegers, that my thesis belonged to the Political sciences department. I successfully defended my research in September 2011.”
Were you well supported during that time?
“Doing a PhD is a challenging process, especially for someone who comes from a very collectivistic society, as a lot of work needs to be done alone. The cultural differences in all aspects, including food, friendship, work ethics, and even the weather were all factors which were challenging.”
“Back in 2008 the university was only starting its internationalisation process; it was more complicated to follow courses in English, while today that philosophy has completely shifted.”
Do you have any advice for today’s researchers to make the process less challenging?
“My main advice would be: consider a PhD position as a real job, 8 hours per day. Then go home and don’t think about it anymore. When we do the PhD we tend to think that we need to finish this task, read that paper, write another conference paper and so on. However, we soon realise the work is not going to finish, even if we work 24/7. This kind of research takes three to five years, so make sure not to stress out.”
If we look at your career, you are switching often between the academic and public fields. Is it challenging? Rewarding?
“I have always done and liked consultancy, that never stopped. I like to be involved practically in my various areas of expertise. Applying academic research or conducting applied research is what I like the most. I use the academic knowledge to apply it in real life. It makes it all more solid and tangible. My work for the International Telecommunication Union, which is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies, is based on my academic knowledge about entrepreneurship but has a clear output: positively impacting the digital entrepreneurship ecosystems of countries.”
“My first UN experience in 2010 was very exciting, working in the UN headquarters in New York for a few months was like a dream.”
“At the same time, I like teaching, as I see the real impact of my work at the end of the semester. Passing knowledge to students and observing them being able to use the same terminology at the end of the semester is very rewarding.”
Are there any skills you have learned during your PhD which you still apply in your various consultancy assignments?
“I have worked in Higher Education for over 20 years now and I truly see the value in education. The PhD gives an opportunity to dig deep in a very specific topic, and create new knowledge. This in return makes you realise the methodologies and techniques used to derive conclusions. It capacitates you to distinguish the soundness of scientific findings, just by looking at the methodologies and data used.”
You are a professor at the Brussels School of Governance (VUB) now. What is your focus?
“Trends shift, so does science. In the beginning I was teaching corporate governance, nowadays I am teaching (social) entrepreneurship. Two trends are influencing business in Europe nowadays: sustainability and digitalisation. We clearly see that consumers and businesses are putting more emphasis on aspects of labour conditions, fair trade, child labour. We also see the shift of businesses to use more and more digital means, definitely since Covid hit. E-commerce will replace many traditional businesses. These two elements of entrepreneurship and the way businesses (will) adapt is quite fascinating.”
Any dreams for the future?
“I have been asked to assist in opening a new university in Uzbekistan. This is a project which requires an understanding of academic, legal, financial, and organisational matters. It is quite a challenging but very interesting project for me!”