What is your field of research?
My research focuses on Knowledge Translation (KT) in Youth Sport. In simple words, I look at how we can take research and put it into practice. My PhD project explores the impact of KT in a youth sport charity organisation, aiming to bridge the research-to-practice gap through developing a KT model.
How did you become interested in the field?
After graduating with a master’s degree, I felt like I was at a crossroads. I had been working across sport, marketing, youth work, and human rights, and I didn't want to leave any of those passions behind. When I discovered this project, it just clicked. It allows me to use my marketing and media skills to communicate, my sports background to understand the setting and my passion for human rights to ensure the work changes young lives for the better. Finding this PhD felt like finding the missing puzzle piece that made my diverse background finally make sense.
How did you come to work at Swansea University?
I moved to Swansea after being awarded the SUIPRES (Swansea University International Postgraduate Research Excellence Scholarship) for a PhD in Sport and Exercise Science. What really drew me in was the interdisciplinary nature of this project. Meeting my supervisory committee, Dr Kurtis Pankow, Dr Tom Love, Professor Camilla Knight, and Dr Bo Wen, made the decision even easier. Their expertise across diverse fields meant I would have incredible support to approach my work with various perspectives and angles. Overall, I am very happy to be part of a university that values international collaboration and research excellence.
What do you hope to achieve with your research?
I hope to make research usable, simple, and accessible for everyone.
The primary goal of my PhD is to explore the impact of Knowledge Translation within a youth sport charity setting. I aim to develop a KT model that helps youth sport organizations bridge the research-to-practice gap.
What practical applications could your research have?
While sport science is an inherently applied field, organizations often struggle to interpret and apply research evidence in their work. This "research-to-practice gap" is usually caused by several barriers: research can be expensive to access, difficult to interpret, and many organizations face financial or staff knowledge limitations. My research involves a collaboration with Greenhouse Sports, a London-based youth sport charity organisation. I will be conducting in-depth case studies of their previous experiences followed by developing a Knowledge Translation model. The goal is to create a framework that makes research usable and accessible. While this work begins in the sports world, it could be a blueprint to eventually support other sectors like healthcare or education.
What is next for your research?
I am currently working on my first case study in a youth sport for development setting, where I am looking at ‘work-as-imagined’ vs ‘work-as-done’ at Greenhouse Sports. I will soon begin conducting semi-structured interviews and collecting qualitative data to understand how programmes are designed and implemented.
These findings will then inform the development of KT frameworks for the next phase of the project.
Career History
Over the past few years, I have lived in seven countries and worked across sport, marketing, and social impact. I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration in Pakistan, followed by an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Sport Management across France, Poland, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Throughout my career, I founded a marketing agency, scaled businesses, and organised over 10 sport and entertainment events. I have worked on several Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) projects focused on youth work and human rights, alongside marketing and communications roles at organisations such as iWorkinSport, Clubee, and Borders:none. I also co-founded the social enterprise Actcept.
I am currently a PhD researcher at Swansea University, where I focus on Knowledge Translation in Youth Sport.