Tanishka Mehta is a fourth-year honours student in the Cities, Regions, Planning program. Her interests are in urban planning, more specifically in the housing and transportation sectors. Having always known that she would one day pursue graduate studies, Tanishka saw the completion of Senior Honours Work (SHW) as an opportunity to further develop skills necessary to her future studies and explore topics of interest.  

Tanishka is completing a paper-based Senior Honours Work project assessing how transportation infrastructure has impacted the ways in which people use the city of Dubai. Her SHW involves reviewing past studies and research on the topic as well as conducting interview with public transport users in Dubai. Tanishka chose this topic as she is from Dubai and wanted to learn more about the transportation sector in the city. “I find it quite interesting to learn how the city is connected and the transportation sector connects people around the city”, she explained.  

Tanishka’s SHW is supervised by Professor Roger Keil, a professor and the Cities, Regions, Planning Coordinator at EUC with notable research in global suburbanisms, infectious disease in cities, urban political ecology, and urban planning, governance, and infrastructure. “After taking a course with him on regional governance, as well as reading some of the research conducted by him, I was confident that he would be a good fit as a supervisor”, Tanishka explained. Professor Kiel’s research and expertise in the realms of globalizing cities, suburbanism, and environmental politics were a source of guidance for Tanishka in completing her SHW. 

“My SHW has been beneficial since it has enhanced my skills, provided me the opportunity to work with an incredible supervisor, and also provided me with some essential tools which I can put to use in the future”, Tanishka explained. In her last semesters at EUC, Tanishka has been able to apply valuable skills gained throughout her studies to her SHW and has learned much about the city that she calls home. 

 As Tanishka looks on to graduate school and prospective research projects, she feels her SHW has propelled her towards her future endeavours. Her advice for students considering pursing Senior Honours Work is to start early and be consistent in your work and research.