PhD candidate nominated for Women of the Future Award

A PhD candidate from the University of Liverpool Management School has been nominated for a prestigious, national Women of the Future Award.

Diana Madibekova, currently in her final year of study, has been nominated in the Science category of the Awards for her research on how businesses can contribute to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and societal peace more broadly.

Before starting her PhD at the University of Liverpool, Diana worked in legal and compliance roles at multinational companies in Poland and interned at the Embassy of Spain in Kazakhstan. Diana sits on the Women of Academy of International Business executive board and has been an active supporter for women’s’ career development in her roles in industry.

Diana will attend a ceremony on 15 November to find out whether she is the winner in her category, consisting of researchers from universities across the UK.

The Women of the Future Awards, founded by author Pinky Lilani CBE in 2006, aims to provide a platform for the pipeline of female talent in the UK and become a venue for role models of next generation. The Awards aim to support and celebrate “the next generation of trailblazers,” in Britain, according to the nominating committee.

Nominees include experts from media, tech, business, engineers, authors, scientists and CEOs.

Speaking about her nomination, Diana said: “As the only PhD candidate to be nominated in the science category, I am deeply honoured and humbled to represent our university and our region at this prestigious national award. I hope that my research will contribute to enhancing the partnerships between academia, business and government to tackle grand societal challenges.”